US War Threat to Nicaragua

London Labour Briefing no. 29, May 1983, p. 27

Transcribed or corrected by hand from the printed page.

By-line as printed: Phil Hearse (Hampstead CLP).

As the fighting escalates in neighbouring El Salvador, the United States and its allies are preparing to strike a major blow against their left wing opponents in Central America — by attempting to bring down the revolutionary government in Nicaragua. About two thousand right wing insurgents infiltrated into Nicaragua at the beginning of March. There is little doubt that their attack has been co-ordinated by the United States. On 7th April a document from the powerful US National Security Council — chaired by Reagan — was leaked to the press. It showed that the United States has organised and financed a major destabilisation against Nicaragua, Cuba and the tiny revolutionary island of Grenada.

The mini-invasion of Nicaragua is just the latest of a series of cross-border raids by supporters of the former dictator Somoza, who are armed and trained by US advisors in Honduras. According to the Nicaraguan interior minister Tomas Borge, the raid could be designed to divert the Nicaraguan army while a more substantial invasion is prepared. The United States ambassador in Honduras, John Negroponte, has openly boasted that he is masterminding the plan to overthrow the Sandinistas in Nicaragua. In January the United States sent 1600 marines to participate in joint manoeuvres with the Honduran army just seven miles from the Nicaraguan border. Much of their equipment was left behind for use by the right wing insurgents.

The reason for the hostility of the United States to the Nicaraguan government is not hard to discover. For decades the United States has dominated Central America economically and politically. Its chosen agents have been a series of right wing military dictatorships, including the Somoza dictatorship in Nicaragua. But in July 1979 the Sandinistas (who take their name from Augusto Cesar Sandino, the revolutionary leader killed in 1934) overthrew Somoza, after an insurrectionary general strike in which Somoza's air force destroyed many of the working class areas of the capital Managua. Tens of thousands of Nicaraguan workers were killed.

The Sandinista revolution put the workers and peasants in power. Starting with a massive literacy campaign, the Sandinistas have started the very difficult work of reconstructing a society plunged into desperate poverty by years of exploitation and neglect. Many estates and businesses have been nationalised; local administration has been put in the hands of the Sandinista Defence Committees, democratically controlled by assemblies of the local people. The Sandinista leaders have made no secret of their socialist convictions and friendship with Cuba, but insist that their revolution is not modelled on any other. Despite US claims of political repression, the Sandinistas have not executed or imprisoned their middle class opponents. The right wing daily paper La Prensa continues to campaign vigorously for the overthrow of the government, with little or no interference.

Danger to U.S. Domination

The danger that Nicaragua represents to US domination of the region is easy to see. In Guatemala and El Salvador the dictatorships are increasingly harassed by left wing guerillas. The popular support for these movements continues unabated, despite the massacres perpetrated by the government-sponsored death squads and the viciously repressive armed forces. The left wing throughout Central America looks to Nicaragua for inspiration in what they see increasingly as a regional war against United States imperialism and its allies.

The Sandinista government has established friendly relations with Socialist parties all over Europe. The Socialist government in France is one of the few governments anywhere which has been prepared to sell them arms. There is little doubt where socialist sympathies should lie in this conflict. In Central America there is little chance of peaceful social change. A dialogue with the death squads is not a feasible option. As the danger of an all-out war against Nicaragua grows, increased international solidarity with the Sandinistas and the left wing forces in El Salvador is vital.

\*The El Salvador Solidarity Campaign is holding a labour movement conference at County Hall on 14th May, with Alex Kitson and Judith Hart among the speakers. Constituency parties and branches can send two delegates each. Details from ESC, 29 Islington Park St., London N1.

transcribed from the page image, 4 Nov 2026 (Hearse/Lloyd follow-up); spelling as printed (guerillas). By-line 'By Phil Hearse (Hampstead CLP)' sits beside the headline; the opening paragraph is set in bold and is given in bold, its capitalised opening words in normal case; the italic closing note on the El Salvador Solidarity Campaign conference is kept as part of the piece. Left out: the Letters section in the lower half of the page (John Chapman, 'In Defence of Manchester Withington'). Fully legible.