Enrique Bermúdez
Encyclopedia
Enrique Bermúdez Varela (December 11, 1932 – February 16, 1991) was a Nicaraguan
who founded and commanded the Nicaragua
n Contras
. In this capacity, he became a central global figure in one of the most prominent conflicts of the Cold War
.
Bermúdez founded the largest Contra army in the war against Nicaragua's Marxist Sandinista
government, which was supported by the Soviet Union
and Cuba
. From 1979 until the end of the military conflict in 1990, Bermudez was the Contras' top military commander. In addition to being responsible for all of the Contras' military operations, Bermúdez ultimately helped manage the Contras' transition to an opposition political party in the early 1990s, after the Sandinistas' ultimately yielded to demands for elections in the country.
On February 16, 1991, Bermudez was assassinated in Managua
.
, Nicaragua
, the son of a mechanical engineer and a domestic servant. After graduating from the military academy in 1952, he took a commission in the engineer corps of the Nicaraguan Guardia Nacional
. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel
under former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle
, and was serving as military attaché
to the United States at the time of the 1979 revolution in Nicaragua by the Sandinistas.
Bermúdez moved almost immediately into armed opposition against the new government, ultimately becoming one of the most influential leaders in the armed opposition to the Sandinista government. Together with Ricardo Lau, he created the 15th of September Legion, the first armed opposition movement against the Sandinistas. In 1981, Bermúdez returned to Tegucigalpa
, Honduras
, from exile in Miami
, United States
. He would later become commander of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force
(FDN), the primary Contra movement.
During the Contra war, Bermúdez held the nom de guerre, Comandante 380.
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 Bermúdez' Contras with arms and other support.
Critics of the Contras also alleged that Bermúdez was one of several figures who had been engaged in cocaine
and other drug-running as a Contra commander. Gary Webb
, a former journalist for the San Jose Mercury News
, alleged there were links between Bermudez and Norwin Meneses Cantarero, currently serving a ten year sentence for cocaine trafficking, and Oscar Danilo Blandon
, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 1992, based on testimony from Blandon and Meneses.
, 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.
magazine, Bermúdez told the most comprehensive account of his life, a lengthy autobiographical essay titled "The Contras' Valley Forge: How I View the Nicaraguan Crisis," in which the Contra leader chronicled his life from his early career as a military attache to Somoza through the height of the conflict between the Contras and Sandinista government.
In the article, Bermúdez staunchly criticized the Sandinistas for their alliances with the Soviet Union
and Cuba
and for betraying promises they made to establish a representative democracy, which they then failed to do. However, Bermúdez also issued some criticism at U.S. policy, writing that some Democrats, such as Jim Wright
, then the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
, were appeasing the Sandinista regime in ways that were inhibiting the Contras' in their effort to overthrow the Sandinista government. The article was authored by conservative author and writer (and then Policy Review editor) Michael Johns
, who interviewed Bermúdez over a series of days in Tegucigalpa, Honduras in May and June 1988.
, 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 departed the hotel after those with whom he was meeting failed to show. In 1994, Bermúdez' daughter, Claudia Bermúdez
, told The Miami Herald
: "There were a lot of people who would have benefited from having my dad put away--the Sandinistas
, the Chamorro
government, the United States
. My dad died with a lot of information."
In 2002 and 2004, his daughter, Claudia Bermúdez, now a resident of the San Francisco area, ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Democrat Barbara Lee
for California's 9th congressional district
seat. She remains heavily engaged in public policy-related initiatives in the district.
Nicaraguan
Nicaraguans are people inhabiting in, originating or having significant heritage from Nicaragua. Most Nicaraguans live in Nicaragua, although there is also a significant Nicaraguan diaspora, particularly in Costa Rica and the United States with smaller communities in other countries around the world...
who founded and commanded the Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
n Contras
Contras
The contras is a label given to the various rebel groups opposing Nicaragua's FSLN Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle's dictatorship...
. In this capacity, he became a central global figure in one of the most prominent conflicts of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
Bermúdez founded the largest Contra army in the war against Nicaragua's Marxist Sandinista
Sandinista National Liberation Front
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish...
government, which was supported by the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. From 1979 until the end of the military conflict in 1990, Bermudez was the Contras' top military commander. In addition to being responsible for all of the Contras' military operations, Bermúdez ultimately helped manage the Contras' transition to an opposition political party in the early 1990s, after the Sandinistas' ultimately yielded to demands for elections in the country.
On February 16, 1991, Bermudez was assassinated in Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
.
Founding the Nicaraguan contras
Bermúdez was born on December 11, 1932 in LeónLeón, Nicaragua
León is a department in northwestern Nicaragua . It is also the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. It was founded by the Spaniards as Santiago de los Caballeros de León and rivals Granada, Nicaragua, in the number of historic Spanish colonial homes and churches...
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, the son of a mechanical engineer and a domestic servant. After graduating from the military academy in 1952, he took a commission in the engineer corps of the Nicaraguan Guardia Nacional
National Guard (Nicaragua)
In Nicaragua, the National Guard was a militia and a gendarmerie created during the occupation of that country by the United States from 1909 to 1933. It became notorious for human rights abuses and corruption under the regime of the Somoza family.-Creation:...
. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel
Lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...
under former Nicaraguan President Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Anastasio Somoza Debayle was a Nicaraguan leader and officially the 73rd and 76th President of Nicaragua from 1 May 1967 to 1 May 1972 and from 1 December 1974 to 17 July 1979. As head of the National Guard, he was de facto ruler of the country from 1967 to 1979...
, and was serving as military attaché
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
to the United States at the time of the 1979 revolution in Nicaragua by the Sandinistas.
Bermúdez moved almost immediately into armed opposition against the new government, ultimately becoming one of the most influential leaders in the armed opposition to the Sandinista government. Together with Ricardo Lau, he created the 15th of September Legion, the first armed opposition movement against the Sandinistas. In 1981, Bermúdez returned to Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa , and commonly referred as Tegus , is the capital of Honduras and seat of government of the Republic, along with its twin sister Comayagüela. Founded on September 29, 1578 by the Spanish, it became the country's capital on October 30, 1880 under President Marco Aurelio Soto...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, from exile in Miami
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He would later become commander of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force
Nicaraguan Democratic Force
The Nicaraguan Democratic Force was one of the earliest Contra groups, formed on August 11, 1981 in Guatemala City. It was formed to oppose Nicaragua's revolutionary Sandinista government following the 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle...
(FDN), the primary Contra movement.
During the Contra war, Bermúdez held the nom de guerre, Comandante 380.
Role in prominent Cold War conflict
The Contras' guerrilla war against the Sandinista government became one of the most contentious and prominent Cold WarCold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
conflicts, with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
supporting the Contras through overt and covert military assistance, and the Soviet Union, Cuba, East Germany and other Eastern bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
nations supporting the Sandinistas. Under the Reagan Doctrine
Reagan Doctrine
The Reagan Doctrine was a strategy orchestrated and implemented by the United States under the Reagan Administration to oppose the global influence of the Soviet Union during the final years of the Cold War...
, 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 Bermúdez' Contras with arms and other support.
Criticisms
Assessments of Bermúdez's military and political leadership varied. His supporters believed that he provided stability among the fractious rebels, holding the FDN together while other Contra factions splintered. Critics, however, charged that he failed to provide strategic direction for the FDN's campaigns, and that he hampered the Contras' effectiveness by rewarding loyal cronies and ex-Guardsmen instead of the most able commanders. Discontent finally led to a council of field commanders ousting Bermúdez, as well as the purging of the Contras' predominantly Miami-based political leadership.Critics of the Contras also alleged that Bermúdez was one of several figures who had been engaged in cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
and other drug-running as a Contra commander. Gary Webb
Gary Webb
Gary Webb was a Pulitzer prize-winning American investigative journalist.Webb was best known for his 1996 "Dark Alliance" series of articles written for the San Jose Mercury News and later published as a book...
, a former journalist for the San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
, alleged there were links between Bermudez and Norwin Meneses Cantarero, currently serving a ten year sentence for cocaine trafficking, and Oscar Danilo Blandon
Oscar Danilo Blandon
Oscar Danilo Blandón Reyes headed Nicaragua's agricultural imports under Anastasio Somoza. He has a master's degree in marketing. When the Somoza government was overthrown in 1979, Blandón fled to the United States, and then raised money for the Nicaraguan Democratic Force , a Contra group...
, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 1992, based on testimony from Blandon and Meneses.
Relations with U.S.
Bermúdez, however, was the key military leader behind the Contras' war. He also was a key contact for the Reagan administrationRonald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....
, who saw him, along with Adolfo Calero
Adolfo Calero
Adolfo Calero Portocarrero was a Nicaraguan businessman, and leader of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, which was the largest contra rebel group opposing the Sandinista government. In the contra leadership, Calero was responsible for managing the bank accounts into which money was deposited and...
, 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
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
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.
Autobiography: The Contras' Valley Forge
In the Summer 1988 issue of Policy ReviewPolicy Review
Policy Review is one of America's leading conservative journals. It was founded by the Heritage Foundation and was for many years the foundation's flagship publication. In 2001, the publication was acquired by the Stanford University-based Hoover Institution, though it maintains its office on...
magazine, Bermúdez told the most comprehensive account of his life, a lengthy autobiographical essay titled "The Contras' Valley Forge: How I View the Nicaraguan Crisis," in which the Contra leader chronicled his life from his early career as a military attache to Somoza through the height of the conflict between the Contras and Sandinista government.
In the article, Bermúdez staunchly criticized the Sandinistas for their alliances with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and for betraying promises they made to establish a representative democracy, which they then failed to do. However, Bermúdez also issued some criticism at U.S. policy, writing that some Democrats, such as Jim Wright
Jim Wright
James Claude Wright, Jr. , usually known as Jim Wright, is a former Democratic U.S. Congressman from Texas who served 34 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and was the Speaker of the House from 1987 to 1989.-Early life:...
, then the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
, were appeasing the Sandinista regime in ways that were inhibiting the Contras' in their effort to overthrow the Sandinista government. The article was authored by conservative author and writer (and then Policy Review editor) Michael Johns
Michael Johns (executive)
Michael Johns is an American health care executive, former federal government of the United States official and conservative policy analyst and writer.-Biography:...
, who interviewed Bermúdez over a series of days in Tegucigalpa, Honduras in May and June 1988.
Assassinated in Managua
Following the Sandinista defeat in the 1990 elections, Bermúdez returned to ManaguaManagua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
, only to be gunned down on February 16, 1991 after being lured to a meeting at Managua's InterContinental
InterContinental
InterContinental is a brand of upscale luxury hotels, founded by Pan American World Airways, under Juan Trippe, and now owned by InterContinental Hotels Group. The chain operates over 200 hotels and resorts in approximately 75 nations.-History:...
Hotel. He was shot in the hotel's parking lot as he departed the hotel after those with whom he was meeting failed to show. In 1994, Bermúdez' daughter, Claudia Bermúdez
Claudia Bermudez
Claudia Bermúdez is a Nicaraguan-American politician and entrepreneur. She ran for the United States Congress as a Republican in California's 9th congressional district...
, told The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered on Biscayne Bay in the Omni district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States...
: "There were a lot of people who would have benefited from having my dad put away--the Sandinistas
Sandinista National Liberation Front
The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish...
, the Chamorro
Violeta Chamorro
Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro is a Nicaraguan political leader, former president and publisher. She became president of Nicaragua on April 25, 1990, when she unseated Daniel Ortega...
government, the United States
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
. My dad died with a lot of information."
Personal
In the last years of the Contra War, Bermúdez had taken up reading the works of noted libertarian author Ayn Rand. While serving as commander of the semi-secret Contra headquarters on the Nicaragua-Honduras border code named "Aguacate" - Spanish for Avocado - he was known for taking solitary walks in the nearby jungle, taking photographs of intricate spiderwebs. Bermúdez is survived by family members, most of whom live in Miami. He was buried in Miami, following a funeral mass that was attended by many of his U.S. and Nicaraguan supporters.In 2002 and 2004, his daughter, Claudia Bermúdez, now a resident of the San Francisco area, ran unsuccessfully against incumbent Democrat Barbara Lee
Barbara Lee
Barbara Jean Lee is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1998. She is a member of the Democratic Party. She is the first woman to represent that district. Lee was the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and was the Co-Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus...
for California's 9th congressional district
California's 9th congressional district
California's 9th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California that covers a significant portion of the East Bay portion of the San Francisco Bay Area...
seat. She remains heavily engaged in public policy-related initiatives in the district.
See also
- ContrasContrasThe contras is a label given to the various rebel groups opposing Nicaragua's FSLN Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle's dictatorship...
- National Guard (Nicaragua)National Guard (Nicaragua)In Nicaragua, the National Guard was a militia and a gendarmerie created during the occupation of that country by the United States from 1909 to 1933. It became notorious for human rights abuses and corruption under the regime of the Somoza family.-Creation:...
- Nicaraguan revolutionNicaraguan RevolutionThe Nicaraguan Revolution encompasses the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front which led to the violent ousting of that dictatorship in 1979, and the...
- Sandinista Popular ArmySandinista Popular ArmyThe Sandinista Popular Army was the military established in 1979 by the new Sandinista government to replace the National Guard, following the overthow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle. In post-Sandinista Nicaragua, it has been remolded into the National Army of Nicaragua. Joaquín Cuadra was chief of...
External links
- "Shultz to Visit Central America on Faltering Talks," The New York Times, June 19, 1988.
- "Bermudez Elected a Contra Director," Associated Press, The New York Times, July 19, 1988.
- "Sandinista Says Colonel's Election Shows Contras' 'True Character'," The New York Times, July 22, 1988.
- "For the Record," The Washington Post, August 4, 1988.
- "Quick Solution is Sought in Ex-Contra Chief's Death," Reuters, The New York Times, February 18, 1991.
- "Leader's Slaying Incites Ex-Contras," The New York Times, February 20, 1991.
- "Nicaragua Holds Suspect in Killing of Contra Chief," The New York Times, March 6, 1991.
- "Nicaraguan Aide Says Killer of Ex-Contra Might Be Dead," Reuters, The New York Times, March 7, 1991.
- "Assassins in Managua," The New York Times, April 16, 1991.