---
category: Intelligence & Government
summary: Former Nicaraguan ambassador to Guatemala and the FDN's representative in
  that country during the Contra war, identified by the FBI in 1982 as one of the
  cocaine suppliers to the Contra drug operation in San Francisco and brother of FDN
  officials Aristides and Troilo Sanchez.
tags:
- Person
- Person/Drug_Trafficker
- Person/Intelligence
- Contra
- Nicaragua
- 1980s
---

Fernando Sanchez was the former [Nicaraguan](/places/nicaragua/) ambassador to [Guatemala](/places/guatemala/) under [Somoza](/people/anastasio-somoza/) and served as the [FDN](/organizations/fdn/)'s representative in Guatemala during the Contra war.[^1] He was identified by the [Federal Bureau of Investigation](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) in 1982 as one of the [cocaine](/concepts/cocaine/) suppliers to the Contra drug operation in [San Francisco](/places/san-francisco/).[^2]

### Family Connections

Sánchez was the brother of [Aristides Sánchez](/people/aristides-sanchez/), the FDN's head of supplies and logistics who served as the alleged conduit for cocaine money from the [Norwin Meneses](/people/norwin-meneses/) drug ring, and [Troilo Sánchez](/people/troilo-sanchez/), a business partner of Meneses and FBI-identified cocaine source for the San Francisco drug ring. The three Sánchez brothers were central figures connecting the FDN leadership to the Meneses drug network.[^2]

### Cocaine Trafficking Allegations

[Carlos Cabezas](/people/carlos-cabezas/) reported to the [DEA](/organizations/dea/) and FBI that Fernando Sánchez was directly involved in cocaine transactions with the Meneses organization. FBI tapes recorded conversations between Sánchez, Troilo, and Cabezas about drug deals.[^3]

[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Cast of Characters
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 5: "God, Fatherland and Freedom"
[^3]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 5: "God, Fatherland and Freedom"