Fort Benning

Fort Benning was a U.S. Army base in Georgia where hundreds of Nicaraguan National Guard officers received military training that prepared them for roles in both the Somoza regime and the Contra army. Along with Fort Gulick and Fort Leavenworth, Fort Benning was one of the primary U.S. military schools that trained the Nicaraguan officers who later formed the FDN's leadership.¹

Training the Guardia

Anastasio Somoza cited the American investment in Nicaraguan officer training when pleading with U.S. Ambassador Pezzullo: "They have been fighting Communism just like you taught them at Fort Gulick and Fort Benning and Fort Leavenworth. Out of nine hundred officers we have, eight hundred or so belong to your schools." Enrique Bermúdez, who became the FDN's military commander, was a graduate of the U.S. Army School of the Americas at Fort Benning, where he received the military education that qualified him, in the CIA's assessment, to lead the Contra army.²