The Contra Bases

The northern border serves as an operational base for attacks by Contras on nicaragua. Former Sandanista turned Contra, Eden Pastora, leads a small army estimated at 5,000 from this border area. At one point, Pastora claimed that he had shut down his activities because he had run out of funds. He stated that because of his "anti-U.S." stance, he would not accept funds from the CIA. Within days he was fighting again, reportedly with an infusion of funds from Israel, as well as other countries. In fact, much of this was a propaganda charade, as Pastora was receiving CIA aid the entire time.