Adolfo Calero
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Adolfo Calero Portocarrero was a leader of the Contras and an opponent of the Sandinista government in Nicaragua.
In the Contra leadership, Calero was responsible for managing the bank accounts into which money was deposited and then used to buy supplies and arms. He was brought to testify at U.S. Congressional hearings in May 1987. From1963, he was a CIA informant.
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[edit] Early years
Calero studied in the United States, graduating from University of Notre Dame and Syracuse University. In Managua, he managed the Coca-Cola bottling plant.
[edit] Nicaraguan Contra leader
Calero was associated with the Conservative Party. Before the overthrow of the government of Anastasio Somoza in 1979, he was briefly imprisoned, giving credibility to his claims to have opposed Somoza as well as the Sandinistas.
In 1983, he joined the political directorate of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN). He became its most powerful member, though many observers always considered his power illusory, due to the political wing's weak control over the military wing. In a bid to unify Contra factions and win aid from the U.S. Congress, he became a member of the UNO triumvirate with Alfonso Robelo and Arturo Cruz.
[edit] The "Iron Triangle"
Calero controlled the FDN through his deputy, Aristides Sánchez, and the Contras' military commander, Enrique Bermúdez, an alliance so tight that it was dubbed the "Iron Triangle."
However, there were tensions below the surface. After the Sapoa ceasefire, Calero exploited discontent with Bermudez among the FDN's field commanders in an effort to push him out. Heavy-handed intervention by the CIA helped to crush this effort. Later, however, other commanders, with the blessing of the State Department, ousted both their political and military leadership.
