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Meddling North stirs election furor
By Erik Wiesner
wiesnere@mscd.edu

The upcoming election in Nicaragua has taken a strange turn. Oliver North has visited the country to support conservative candidates who oppose leftist Daniel Ortega. The U.S. government did not endorse his visit but takes a similar stance on the election.

North was a White House staffer, convicted in 1989 of falsifying and destroying documents, obstructing Congress and illegally taking gifts, after his role in the Iran-Contra scandal of 1986 was uncovered.

To understand just how offensive North’s involvement in Nicaraguan politics is, one must understand the history of Nicaragua and the United States.

Nicaragua was ruled by the tyrannical Somoza family dynasty from 1937 to 1979. In 1961, the socialist Sandinista National Liberation Front, or FSLN, was founded, taking its name and inspiration from guerrilla fighter Augusto Cesar Sandino.

In 1978, the National Guard assassinated the leader of the main opposition party. A nationwide strike followed in protest, and moderates united with the FSLN to overthrow the Somoza regime. In 1979, Nicaragua was freed from the Somoza yoke and a Sandinista government was set up.

The United States was not happy about this. As Franklin Delano Roosevelt had earlier said, “Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch.” Under Jimmy Carter, the significant U.S. aid Nicaragua had received under the Somozas was reduced; when Ronald Reagan took office, it was eliminated.

Reagan also directed the CIA to overthrow the new Nicaraguan government. Paramilitary thugs known as the Contras were massed on the Nicaraguan border and given a great deal of money and weapons.

In 1984, free elections, certified by western organizations, were held. FSLN leader Daniel Ortega won by a vast margin. That same year, the United States mined Nicaraguan harbors, violating international law.

Reagan’s harsh policies drew criticism in Washington, causing the administration to conceal its support for the Contras. The Iran-Contra scheme was hatched to secretly sell arms to Iran, a U.S. enemy. The proceeds were transferred to the Contras so they could continue fighting against the legitimate Nicaraguan government.

The Contras didn’t succeed in overthrowing the Sandinistas, who wound up losing the election of 1990 to a U.S.-sponsored candidate. The civil war that Reagan created had destroyed the Nicaraguan economy, and Nicaragua now ranks as one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.

How can the United States, and especially Oliver North, presume to have a say in the internal affairs of Nicaragua? After all the pain and misery visited upon the country, the people of Nicaragua now have the perpetrators of that suffering instructing them on who to elect. I am disgusted at North’s callousness. Who does he think he is to lend support or opposition to Nicaraguan politicians? If I were a Nicaraguan citizen, Ortega being hated by the United States might be enough reason for me to give him my vote, but Oliver North’s escapade would certainly seal the deal. Viva Nicaragua libre!