In response to the overthrow of the Somoza government by revolutionaries in Nicaragua, the Reagan administration
A) endorsed the Contadora peace plan backed by other Latin American nations.
B) relied on peaceful persuasion to encourage the Nicaraguan people to protest the new government's human-rights abuses.
C) secured the support of European allies to cut off trade with Nicaragua.
D) used the CIA to train and arm counterrevolutionaries whose goal it was to overthrow the Sandinista government.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Reagan administration feared that the Sandinistas were aligned with the Soviet Union and supported leftist revolutionary movements in other parts of Latin America. To counter this perceived threat, the administration used the CIA to train and arm counterrevolutionaries known as the Contras with the goal of overthrowing the Sandinista government. This was a controversial policy known as the Iran-Contra affair, which involved illicit arms sales to Iran in exchange for hostages and the diversion of funds to the Contras in violation of congressional mandates.

In Response to the Overthrow of the Somoza Government by Revolutionaries