---
aliases:
- Contras
- Contra
- Nicaraguan Contras
category: Paramilitary
created: 2026-05-17
location: Honduras
start: 1980-01-01
summary: Nicaraguan rebel groups organized and funded by the CIA to overthrow the
  Sandinista government, composed largely of former Somoza National Guard officers
  and implicated extensively in cocaine trafficking throughout the 1980s war.
tags:
- Organization
- Political
- Nicaragua
- Contra
- 1980s
- ColdWar
- DarkAllianceInvestigation
title: Contras
updated: 2026-05-17
---

The Contras were [Nicaraguan](/places/nicaragua/) rebel groups organized and funded by the [Central Intelligence Agency](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) to overthrow the [Sandinista](/organizations/sandinistas/) government of Nicaragua.[^3] Made up largely of former followers of deposed dictator [Anastasio Somoza](/people/anastasio-somoza/) and his [National Guard](/organizations/nicaraguan-national-guard/), the Contras were the darlings of the [Reagan](/people/ronald-reagan/) administration's anti-Communist foreign policy. Multiple Contra factions were implicated in [cocaine](/concepts/cocaine/) trafficking during the 1980s war.[^1]

### Major Contra Factions

The largest and best-equipped faction was the [Fuerza Democrática Nicaragüense (FDN)](/organizations/fdn/), created by the CIA, based in [Honduras](/places/honduras/), and commanded by [Enrique Bermúdez](/people/enrique-bermudez/).[^2] The [UDN-FARN](/organizations/udn-farn/) was based in [Costa Rica](/places/costa-rica/) and commanded by ["El Negro" Chamorro](/people/fernando-chamorro/). [ARDE](/organizations/arde/) was commanded by former Sandinista hero ["Commandante Zero"](/people/eden-pastora/) and was also based in Costa Rica. The later umbrella group [UNO](/organizations/uno/) was a CIA-inspired attempt to unite all factions under one banner.

### Drug Trafficking

The [Kerry](/people/john-kerry/) Committee investigation (1987-1988) by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee uncovered direct links between drug dealers and the Contras.[^1] Contra leaders acknowledged receiving drug profits with the apparent knowledge of the CIA. Drug dealers admitted under oath to giving money to the Contras and passed polygraph tests. Pilots admitted flying weapons south and cocaine and marijuana north, landing in at least one instance at [Homestead](/places/homestead-air-force-base/) Air Force Base in [Florida](/places/florida/).

[Norwin Meneses](/people/norwin-meneses/) worked for the Contras as a recruiter, arms supplier, and benefactor during the entire war.[^2] [Danilo Blandón](/people/danilo-blandon/) sold cocaine in [Los Angeles](/places/los-angeles/) to raise funds for the Contras in the early 1980s and founded the FDN chapter in Los Angeles. Multiple Contra officials were identified by the [Federal Bureau of Investigation](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) as being involved in or connected to drug trafficking, including [Aristides Sánchez](/people/aristides-sanchez/), [Fernando Sánchez](/people/fernando-sanchez/), [Renato Peña](/people/renato-pena/), [Vicente Rappaccioli](/people/vicente-rappaccioli/), and [Marcos Aguado](/people/marcos-aguado/).

The [Frogman Case](/events/frogman-case/), the largest cocaine bust in West Coast history at the time, exposed direct links between Contra drug traffickers in [San Francisco](/places/san-francisco/) and the CIA. When defense attorneys obtained letters from CIA assets [Francisco Aviles](/people/francisco-aviles/) and Vicente Rappaccioli claiming seized drug money belonged to the Contras, the CIA intervened to suppress the connection. A secret 1987 [DEA](/organizations/dea/) report noted that a defendant in the Frogman case had made 51 phone calls to the FDN office in San Francisco.[^4]

### Political Context

The Contras were a creation of the CIA, assembled from the remnants of Somoza's defeated National Guard. After the Sandinistas overthrew Somoza in July 1979, National Guard officers who escaped poured across the borders into [El Salvador](/places/el-salvador/), Honduras, and Costa Rica. The CIA began reassembling these forces in 1980 under the direction of [Dewey Clarridge](/people/dewey-clarridge/).[^1]

[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Prologue: "It was like they didn't want to know"
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Cast of Characters
[^3]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Glossary of Organizations and Locations
[^4]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 5: "God, Fatherland and Freedom"