Sandinista leader barred from US as "terrorist"
Saturday March 5, 2005
Giving more credence to the old saw -- "one person's terrorist is another person's freedom fighter" -- the US has barred a scholar and former Sandinista leader from entering the country because of involvement with "terrorist acts" in the 70s. Dora Maria Tellez was a commandante of the Sandinista, which overthrew Nicaraguan dictator Somoza in 1979; his was a family dynasty of 40+ years that had been supported by the US
since the '30s.
Tellez became minister of health in the first elected Sandinista administration. Her memoirs, dealing with life as a Sandinista, were published two years ago. She was slated to begin teaching this Spring at Harvard, as the Robert F Kennedy visiting professor in Latin American studies in the divinity department.
According to the Guardian, Tellez said: "I have no idea why they are refusing me a visa. I have been in the US many times before - on holidays, at conferences, on official business."
Timeline of US Involvement In Nicaragua
From 1909-1933, the US had a military contingent in Nicaragua almost continually, through various civil wars, and occasionally pressed for leadership changes.
In 1927, the US negotiated the Pact of Espino Negro to end the current civil war. The pact directed the US to establish a nonpartisan military force (the National Guard). A group led by Augusto César Sandino, who had denounced US intervention in Nicaragua's affairs, refused to sign the pact.
The US pulled out in 1933 because "popular opposition to the Nicaraguan intervention rose as United States casualty lists grew. Anxious to withdraw from Nicaraguan politics, the United States turned over command of the National Guard to the Nicaraguan government, and United States marines left the country soon thereafter."
Somoza García became the chief of the National Guard. He had attended school in Philadelphia and had been trained by US Marines.
In 1934, the President offered Sandino amnesty; he "insisted on the guard's dissolution" because he "regarded the National Guard as unconstitutional because of its ties to the United States military." This attitude did not make him a favorite of Somoza, who is credited with assassinating Sandino and two of his officers after they had dinner with the President. "After Sandino's execution, the National Guard launched a ruthless campaign against Sandino's supporters. In less than a month, Sandino's army was totally destroyed."
Thus, the seeds were planted for a multi-generational family feud.
"On January 1, 1937, Somoza García resumed control of the National Guard, combining the roles of president and chief director of the military. Thus, Somoza García established a military dictatorship, in the shadows of democratic laws, that would last more than four decades."
Anastasio Somoza Debayle was elected president in 1967, then amended the constitution to allow himself to stay in power until 1972. Opposition was led led by Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal (who was assassinated in 1978) through his newspaper La Prensa and by Roman Catholic Church Archbishop Miguel Obando y Bravo.
In 1978, the US ended military assistance to the Somoza dictatorship.
In 1979, when Somoza was overthrown, two-thirds of the citizens earned less than US$300 a year; his personal wealth was estimated at $900 million.
In 1981, President Reagan brought with him to office a Republican platform that "deplore[d] the Marxist Sandinista take-over of Nicaragua"; his administration accused Nicaragua of suppling arms to El Salvador (in cahoots with Russia and Cuba). Under Reagan's leadership, the CIA expanded its guerrilla warfare activity that supported Nicaraguan contras (counter-revolutionaries - followers of Somoza and the National Guard) to the tune of $18 million.
In 1982, the House unanimously passed the Boland Amendment, "stating that none of the appropriated defense funds could be used to 'train, arm, or support persons not members of the regular army for the purpose of overthrowing the government of Nicaragua.'"
In October 1984, the AP unearthed a CIA-produced, 90-page guerrilla-warfare training manual called "Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare" which was later vetted by the House Intelligence Committee.
The Sandanistas won 67% of the vote and assumed the presidency as well as 61 of the 96 seats in the National Assembly. The Nicaraguan government announced that the Contras had assassinated 910 state officials since 1981.
In April 1985, Congress refused to authorize a requested $21 million for the Contras after the US (CIA) role in mining Nicaraguan harbors was made public.
In 1986 The World Court ruled that
In 1990, a coalition goverment defeated the Sandinistas; gross domestic product is less than US$500 per capita. In 1995, an amendment to the Constitution shifted power from the president to the parliment.
See The Guardian (3 March) . Also, LOC - Nicaragua, LOC - Boland Amendment, CNN Cold War: CIA Manual: Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare, CIA Textbook on Psychological Operations In Guerrilla Warfare, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, The CIA in Nicaragua , The Contras, Cocaine, and Covert Operations, Isn't It Time We Rejoin the World Court? (We Left in 1986), Necessary Illusions, A Quick Review of Iran-Contra
Tellez became minister of health in the first elected Sandinista administration. Her memoirs, dealing with life as a Sandinista, were published two years ago. She was slated to begin teaching this Spring at Harvard, as the Robert F Kennedy visiting professor in Latin American studies in the divinity department.
According to the Guardian, Tellez said: "I have no idea why they are refusing me a visa. I have been in the US many times before - on holidays, at conferences, on official business."
Timeline of US Involvement In Nicaragua
From 1909-1933, the US had a military contingent in Nicaragua almost continually, through various civil wars, and occasionally pressed for leadership changes.
In 1927, the US negotiated the Pact of Espino Negro to end the current civil war. The pact directed the US to establish a nonpartisan military force (the National Guard). A group led by Augusto César Sandino, who had denounced US intervention in Nicaragua's affairs, refused to sign the pact.
The US pulled out in 1933 because "popular opposition to the Nicaraguan intervention rose as United States casualty lists grew. Anxious to withdraw from Nicaraguan politics, the United States turned over command of the National Guard to the Nicaraguan government, and United States marines left the country soon thereafter."
Somoza García became the chief of the National Guard. He had attended school in Philadelphia and had been trained by US Marines.
In 1934, the President offered Sandino amnesty; he "insisted on the guard's dissolution" because he "regarded the National Guard as unconstitutional because of its ties to the United States military." This attitude did not make him a favorite of Somoza, who is credited with assassinating Sandino and two of his officers after they had dinner with the President. "After Sandino's execution, the National Guard launched a ruthless campaign against Sandino's supporters. In less than a month, Sandino's army was totally destroyed."
Thus, the seeds were planted for a multi-generational family feud.
"On January 1, 1937, Somoza García resumed control of the National Guard, combining the roles of president and chief director of the military. Thus, Somoza García established a military dictatorship, in the shadows of democratic laws, that would last more than four decades."
Anastasio Somoza Debayle was elected president in 1967, then amended the constitution to allow himself to stay in power until 1972. Opposition was led led by Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal (who was assassinated in 1978) through his newspaper La Prensa and by Roman Catholic Church Archbishop Miguel Obando y Bravo.
In 1978, the US ended military assistance to the Somoza dictatorship.
In 1979, when Somoza was overthrown, two-thirds of the citizens earned less than US$300 a year; his personal wealth was estimated at $900 million.
In 1981, President Reagan brought with him to office a Republican platform that "deplore[d] the Marxist Sandinista take-over of Nicaragua"; his administration accused Nicaragua of suppling arms to El Salvador (in cahoots with Russia and Cuba). Under Reagan's leadership, the CIA expanded its guerrilla warfare activity that supported Nicaraguan contras (counter-revolutionaries - followers of Somoza and the National Guard) to the tune of $18 million.
In 1982, the House unanimously passed the Boland Amendment, "stating that none of the appropriated defense funds could be used to 'train, arm, or support persons not members of the regular army for the purpose of overthrowing the government of Nicaragua.'"
In October 1984, the AP unearthed a CIA-produced, 90-page guerrilla-warfare training manual called "Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare" which was later vetted by the House Intelligence Committee.
The Sandanistas won 67% of the vote and assumed the presidency as well as 61 of the 96 seats in the National Assembly. The Nicaraguan government announced that the Contras had assassinated 910 state officials since 1981.
In April 1985, Congress refused to authorize a requested $21 million for the Contras after the US (CIA) role in mining Nicaraguan harbors was made public.
In 1986 The World Court ruled that
... the United States of America, by training, arming, equipping, financing and supplying the Contra forces or otherwise encouraging, supporting and aiding military and paramilitary activities in and against Nicaragua, has acted... in breach of its obligation under customary international law not to intervene in the affairs of another state.In 1987, the Iran-Contra affair made public a US scheme to secretly supply arms to Iran in exchange for money to be channelled to the contras.
In 1990, a coalition goverment defeated the Sandinistas; gross domestic product is less than US$500 per capita. In 1995, an amendment to the Constitution shifted power from the president to the parliment.
See The Guardian (3 March) . Also, LOC - Nicaragua, LOC - Boland Amendment, CNN Cold War: CIA Manual: Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare, CIA Textbook on Psychological Operations In Guerrilla Warfare, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, The CIA in Nicaragua , The Contras, Cocaine, and Covert Operations, Isn't It Time We Rejoin the World Court? (We Left in 1986), Necessary Illusions, A Quick Review of Iran-Contra
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