On February 3, 1988, the U.S. Congress voted to end military aid to the Nicaraguan freedom-fighters. It was reasonable to predict, and no doubt many who voted against them hoped, that without this aid they would be unable to fight effectively, be driven out of Nicaragua, and then disperse. This last was most critical of all to their enemies, for the insufficiency of war matériel could always be remedied, and troops who walked out of Nicaragua could always walk back in. The real hope of the Contras’ opponents, and the fear of their supporters, was that they would very quickly fall apart.
Today much of the discussion about Centeral America, and U.S. options there, assumes that this has happened. Even Contra supporters speculate about what, with the Contras gone, we should do next. And the Contras’ old enemies in Washington argue that their quick dissolution shows they were never dedicated to their struggle anyway, but rather a bunch of mercenaries on the CIA payroll.
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