Enrique Bermúdez
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Enrique Bermúdez Varela (died February 16, 1991 in Managua, Nicaragua) was founder and commander of the Nicaraguan Contras and a central figure in the Contras' war against Nicaragua's Sandinista government from 1979 to 1990.
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[edit] Founding the Nicaraguan contras
Prior to assuming his leadership role with the Contras, Bermudez was a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Nicaraguan Guardia Nacional under former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle. Following the 1979 revolution in Nicaragua by the Sandinistas, Bermudez moved almost immediately into armed opposition against the new government, ultimately becoming one the most influential leaders in the armed opposition to the Sandinista government.
Together with Ricardo Lau, they created the 15th of September Legion, the first armed opposition movement against the Sandinistas. In 1981, Bermudez returned to Tegucigalpa, Honduras from exile in Miami, Florida. He would later become commander of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN), the primary Contra movement.
During the Contra war, Bermudez took the nom de guerre, Comandante 380.
[edit] Role in prominent Cold War conflict
The Contras' guerrilla war against the Sandinista government became one of the most contentious and prominent Cold War conflicts, with the United States supporting the Contras through overt and covert military assistance, and the Soviet Union, Cuba, East Germany and other Eastern bloc nations supporting the Sandinistas. Under the Reagan Doctrine, through which the U.S. believed it could drive the Soviet Union out of Central America and other regions around the world, the U.S. began supplying Bermudez' Contras with arms and other support.
[edit] Criticisms
Assessments of Bermudez's military and political leadership varied. His Nicaraguan supporters believed that he provided stability among the fractious rebels, holding the FDN together while other Contra factions bickered. Critics, however, charged that he failed to provide strategic direction for the FDN's campaigns, and that he rewarded loyal cronies and ex-Guardsmen instead of the most able commanders, to the detriment of the Contras' effectiveness. Discontent finally led to a council of field commanders ousting Bermudez, as well as the purging of the Contras' predominantly Miami-based political leadership.
Critics of the Contras also alleged that Bermudez was one of several figures who had been engaged in cocaine and other drug-running as a Contra commander, but evidence of this allegation was never fully established and it was presented predominantly by Contra opponents who sought to terminate U.S. support to the Contras.
[edit] Relations with U.S.
Bermudez, however, was the key military leader behind the Contras' war. He also was a key contact for the Reagan administration, who saw him, along with Adolfo Calero, as their primary contacts within the Contra leadership. Votes on U.S. aid to the Contras were some of the most contentious and close votes in the United States Congress during the 1980s, but the predominant sentiment in Congress was that continued aid to the Contras was critical both to establishing a non-communist government in Nicaragua and driving the Soviet Union from the American hemisphere during the height of the Cold War.
[edit] Murdered in Managua
Following the Sandinista defeat in the 1990 elections, Bermudez returned to Managua, only to be gunned down on February 16, 1991 after being lured to a meeting at Managua's InterContinental Hotel. He was shot in the hotel's parking lot as he arrived for the meeting. Accounts suggest he almost certainly was killed by a sniper, suggesting a probable conspiracy in his killing. Bermudez' assassination remains unsolved.
[edit] Bermudez on the Nicaraguan conflict
Less than three years prior to his murder in Managua, Bermudez provided a very comprehensive interview on his views about his historical role in Nicaragua, detailing both his disagreements with former Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza (under whom he served), his motivations for founding and leading the Contra movement, his relations with the Reagan administration, and his view on why he believed the Contras' ultimately would prevail. Titled "The Contras' Valley Forge: How I View the Nicaraguan Crisis", the article appeared in the Summer 1988 issue of Policy Review magazine, published by the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.[1].
Given Bermudez' limited interaction with global media, the article is considered of the most definitive and comprehensive sources on Bermudez' views and his role in one of the most important Cold War conflicts of the late 20th century.
[edit] Personal
Bermudez leaves behind family members, most of whom live in Miami. He was buried in Miami, following a Miami funeral mass that was attended by many of his U.S. and Nicaraguan supporters. In 2004, his daughter Claudia ran against incumbent Democrat Barbara Lee for California's 9th congressional district seat.
