---
born: 1945-11-11
category: Iran-Contra
location: La Libertad, Chontales, Nicaragua
summary: Daniel Ortega was the Sandinista president of Nicaragua whose government
  the Reagan administration sought to overthrow through the Contra war and covert
  operations.
tags:
- person
- nicaraguan
- contra-war
---

Daniel Ortega was the [Sandinista](/organizations/sandinistas/) president of [Nicaragua](/places/nicaragua/) whose government the Reagan administration sought to overthrow through the [Contra](/organizations/contras/) war and covert operations. Ortega led the Sandinista government that came to power after the 1979 revolution that ousted Anastasio Somoza.[^1]

### Target of Covert Operations

The entire Contra war was designed to destabilize and ultimately overthrow Ortega's government. CIA agent [Dagoberto Nuñez](/people/dagoberto-nunez/) obtained a contract with H&M Corp. to cover an intelligence-gathering operation aimed at Ortega, preparing to sign an agreement for shrimping rights off the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua as cover for espionage. The [Central Intelligence Agency](/organizations/central-intelligence-agency/) employed multiple schemes to gather intelligence on Ortega, including attempts to [recruit Colombian drug lords](/people/jorge-ochoa/) to publicly implicate him in drug trafficking. The DEA sent agent James Kible to visit jailed [Medellín Cartel](/organizations/medellin-cartel/) boss Jorge Ochoa in [Spain](/places/spain/) to persuade him to implicate the Sandinistas.[^2]

[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 15.
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Ch. 15, Ch. 19.