Edited by Audrey Agot
Adolfo Calero Portocarrero, one of the top leaders of the Nicaraguan Resistance (better known as the Contra), died yesterday morning at the age of 80 due to chronic pneumonia.
At the funeral mass held by his family, he was described as a “patriot” by Arnoldo Aleman Lacoyo and as an “architect of democracy” by Enrique Bolaños Geyer. Both former presidents of Nicaragua met yesterday under the roof of the same church to say farewell to a man they held in highest regard.
Calero was the president and commander of the Contra in the 80s when they held an armed resistance against the revolutionary government led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front, a party which is currently back in power.
A businessman and member of the Conservative Party, he fled Nicaragua after the fall of Somoza. In 1983, he formed the Nicaraguan Democratic Force and became its president that same year.
Calero managed the finances of the Contra, especially the purchase of weapons and supplies to fight the Sandinistas. In 1987, he testified before the United States Congress regarding the 1985 Iran-Contra affair. According to stories from various newspapers, the CIA illegally sold weapons behind Congress’ back to Iran for their war against Iraq and introduced drugs to the United States from Honduras.
The money that was raised allowed the CIA to finance the Contra in their activities against the Sandinista government.
In 1988, the signing of the Sapoa Agreement, which ended the war with the Sandinista government, earned Calero discontent from other members of the Contra.
However, with permission from the CIA and the Department of State, Calero assumed political and military leadership of the group, and retired from the Contra in 1989.
Following his death, his family received condolences from the United States, such as from Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and former Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North.
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