fatvegan

In 1978, the US ended military assistance to the Somoza dictatorship.

In 1979, when Somoza was overthrown, two-thirds of the citizens earned less than US$300 a year; his personal wealth was estimated at $900 million.

In 1982, the House unanimously passed the Boland Amendment, "stating that none of the appropriated defense funds could be used to 'train, arm, or support persons not members of the regular army for the purpose of overthrowing the government of Nicaragua.'"

In 1986 The World Court ruled that: ... the United States of America, by training, arming, equipping, financing and supplying the Contra forces or otherwise encouraging, supporting and aiding military and paramilitary activities in and against Nicaragua, has acted... in breach of its obligation under customary international law not to intervene in the affairs of another state.

In 1987, the Iran-Contra affair made public a US scheme to secretly supply arms to Iran in exchange for money to be channelled to the contras.

US Politics

The world is a messed up place. Sometimes I can't believe how easily we pretend that everything is normal. The House of Representatives ruled unanimously, and yet Reagan and the CIA ignored them. After this was made public Reagan's approval ratings increased. I love democracy.

It's also interesting because, in this case, immediately after America stops using government money and military power to protect their foreign interests and keep Somoza in power, he is overthrown by an immensely popular revolution. I guess the US isn't likely to make the same mistake, of withdrawing support from a dictator just because he murders a whole bunch of people. Look at all the trouble they had to go to overthrow the Sandinistas. Supporting dictators might cost you a bit in terms of PR, but it sure saves a lot of money and inconvenience in the long run.