Sanchez, Aristides

Born in an elite family that traditionally supported the Somos Liberal Nationalist Party . He worked as a private lawyer. After the Nicaraguan revolution, he took an implacable anti-Sandinista position. Despite the lack of military experience, he joined the Legion on September 15, Enrique Bermudes , the first contra structure created by former fighters of the national guard of the fallen Somosa regime.

In 1980 he emigrated. Initially blocked with opposition groups, Francisco Cardenal and Mariano Mendoza . Then he entered into a coalition with Enrique Bermudez and Adolfo Calero . In August 1981, he participated in the formation of the Nicaraguan Democratic Forces ( FDN ), the largest contras structure.

Aristides Sanchez acted as the organizer and liaison between the command of the armed groups (the key figure is Bermudez) and the political leadership of the FDN (the key figure is Calero). He constantly cruised between Calero’s headquarters in Miami and the Contras field camps in Honduras. ^[1] Sanchez spent most of his time in the camps and established close relations with the fighters and field commanders. For Calero, he was the curator of the armed forces, for Bermudes, he was a lobbyist in political circles. Aristides Sanchez was described as "the best strategist of the Contras" ^[2] .

Sanchez, Calero and Bermudez formed the Iron Triangle - the Triángulo de Hierro of the Nicaraguan armed opposition. Within this governing triad, there was an alliance between Sanchez and Bermudez. In 1987, Sanchez joined the leadership of the largest anti-Sandinista coalition - the Nicaraguan Resistance ( RN ).

At the same time, Sanchez competed with Calero for leadership in the movement, based on the higher position of his family during the Somosa (Sanchez belonged to the bureaucracy, Calero to the bourgeois). In the US, Sanchez was seen as a representative of the Somosist oligarchy and anti-American nationalist. He was a serious partner of the CIA , although he was extremely negative about American intelligence. Sanchez was one of the few leaders of the Contras who entered into disputes and conflicts with the Americans ^[3] . In contrast to the progressive neoconservative Calero, Sanchez adhered to conservative - traditionalist views that were really close to somosism.

The conflict between Sanchez and Calero intensified after the start of the negotiations of the Contras with the Sandinista government. Sanchez and Bermudez strongly objected to concessions to the Sandinists. Calero, relying on the support of the American administration, was a supporter of a political settlement. As a result, on March 23, 1988, the delegations of the RN and the SFSS headed by Adolfo Calero and Umberto Ortega concluded the Sapoa Peace Agreement ^[4] .

Although Aristides Sanchez signed the Sapoa Agreement, he did not accept the terms of the settlement. Sanchez began to consolidate the radical ex-rebels (later this trend took shape in the Recontras movement) ^[5] . The new Nicaraguan authorities, who succeeded the Sandinista after the free elections of February 25, 1990 , accused Sanchez of destabilizing the center-right government of Violeta Barrios de Chamorro .

On November 14, 1990, a group of demobilized contras clashed with police on a bridge in the city of Sebako . 4 people were killed, 16 were injured. The next day, Sanchez was arrested and charged with subversive activities, but was soon released, after which he flew for treatment to Miami. In this incident, he filed a complaint with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ^[6] . The incident in Sebako Sanchez described as a consequence of the continuing Sandinista control over state power structures.

In September 1993, 50-year-old Aristides Sanchez died of a serious illness. His wife, Cecilia Sanchez ^[7], participated in the Contras movement, and, after her husband’s death, implemented programs to help former fighters.

Aristides Sanchez represented in the movement the contra ultra-conservative direction, descending from the Somosist regime. In the heterogeneous Nicaraguan opposition, this line was not dominant. However, the personal qualities of Sanchez allowed him to become one of the leading figures in the contra.