Episode 10, Part 2 | Nicaragua, 1980s. Contra War

In the early 1980s, U.S. President Ronald Reagan launched a covert war to destroy the fledgling Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua. It was brutal: Paramilitary war, CIA attacks, economic blockade, and more.

It would wreak havoc on the country, killing tens of thousands and ravaging the economy. But an international solidarity movement stood up in response. And the Reagan government's hubris, and drive to fuel its war on Nicaragua, would break U.S. laws and lead to a shocking scandal in Washington: Iran Contra.

In this episode, host Michael Fox walks back into the 1980s, to the U.S. response to revolution in Nicaragua and to the international solidarity that pushed back.This is Part 2 of Episode 10.

Under the Shadow is an investigative narrative podcast series that walks back in time, telling the story of the past by visiting momentous places in the present.

In each episode, host Michael Fox takes us to a location where something historic happened — a landmark of revolutionary struggle or foreign intervention. Today, it might look like a random street corner, a church, a mall, a monument, or a museum. But every place he takes us was once the site of history-making events that shook countries, impacted lives, and left deep marks on the world.

Hosted by Latin America-based journalist Michael Fox.This podcast is produced in partnership between The Real News Network and NACLA.

Guests:
Alex Aviña
William Robinson
Alex Cox
Marvin Ortega Rodriguez
Eline Van Ommen
Peter Kornbluh
Coleen Littlejohn
Grahame Russell
Jose Francisco Artola

Edited by Heather Gies.
Sound design by Gustavo Türck.
Theme music by Monte Perdido and Michael Fox.

Permanent links

• Follow and support journalist Michael Fox or Under the Shadow at https://www.patreon.com/mfox. You can also see pictures and listen to full clips of Michael Fox’s music for this episode.

Additional links/info

• Monte Perdido's new album Ofrenda is now out. You can listen to the full album on Spotify
• Other music from Blue Dot Sessions.
• For declassified documents on the U.S. Contra war on Nicaragua and the Iran Contra affair, you can visit Peter Kornbluh's National Security Archives here and here.
• Brian Wilson's memoir, Blood on the Tracks: The Life and Times of S. Brian Willson, is available here. His interview on Democracy Now! is here.
• Eline van Ommen’s book, Nicaragua Must Survive: Sandinista Revolutionary Diplomacy in the Global Cold War (University of California Press, 2023), is available here.
• William Robinson's book, A Faustian Bargain: U.S. Intervention In The Nicaraguan Elections And American Foreign Policy In The Post-cold War Era about the U.S. role in Nicaragua's 1990 election is available here.
• For the 2007 documentary American Sandinista, you can visit the website of director Jason Blalock. jasonblalock.com
• Here are links to the 1980 documentaries about Nicaragua's literacy campaign that I mentioned in part 1: La Salida and La Llegada.
• For a deeper analysis of opposing views on role of the U.S. government today in Nicaragua I recommend the following resources:
  • This 2020 book was written by "a collective of historians, researchers and activists committed to finding and sharing the truth about US intervention in Nicaragua." The Revolution Won’t Be Stopped: Nicaragua Advances Despite US Unconventional Warfare
• This pair of NACLA articles from professor William Robinson, offers an opposing view, underscoring that "Washington's principal concern in Nicaragua is not getting rid of Ortega but preserving the interests of transnational capital."
  • "Crisis in Nicaragua: Is the Ortega-Murillo Government Leftist? (Part I)"
  • "Crisis in Nicaragua: Is the US Trying to Overthrow the Ortega-Murillo Government? (Part II)"

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