Adolfo Calero Portocarrero (December 22, 1931 – June 2, 2012) was a Nicaraguan businessman and the leader of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, the largest rebel group of the Contras, opposing the

Sandinista The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto C� ...

government. Calero was responsible for managing the bank accounts into which money was deposited and then used to buy supplies and arms for the Contras. He was brought to testify at hearings of the

US Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

in May 1987.

Early years

Calero was born on December 22, 1931 in Managua to Adolfo Calero Orozco (1899–1980) and María Portocarrero (1911–1944), who had married in 1927. The oldest of four children, he studied in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, graduating from

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

in 1953 and Syracuse University. In Managua, he managed the

Coca-Cola Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

bottling plant. Calero was associated with the Conservative Party of Nicaragua. From 1963, he was a CIA information source. Before the 1979 overthrow of the government of Anastasio Somoza, he had been briefly imprisoned, which gave credibility to his claims to have opposed Somoza as well as the Sandinistas.

Contra leader

In early 1983, he joined the political directorate of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN). By October he became its president, but many observers wondered about his real power because of the political wing's weak control over the military wing. In a bid to unify contra factions and win aid from the

, he became a member of the

United Nicaraguan Opposition The United Nicaraguan Opposition (''Unidad Nicaragüense Opositora'', UNO) was a Nicaraguan rebel umbrella group formed in 1985, led by the triumvirate of Adolfo Calero, Alfonso Robelo, and Arturo Cruz. However, the great majority of UNO's milita ...

(UNO) triumvirate with Alfonso Robelo and Arturo Cruz. Calero controlled the FDN through his deputy, Aristides Sánchez, and the Contras' military commander, Enrique Bermúdez, an alliance so tight that it was dubbed the "Iron Triangle." However, there were tensions below the surface. After the Sapoa ceasefire, Calero exploited discontent with Bermudez among the FDN's field commanders in an effort to push him out. Heavy-handed intervention by the CIA helped to crush that effort. Later, however, other commanders, with the blessing of the

US State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nati ...

, ousted both their political and military leadership. On July 26, 2011, he published his book "Cronicas de un Contra", which narrates his participation during the 1980s in Nicaragua.

Personal life

Calero married Maria Ernestina Lacayo on December 7, 1957. The couple had two children, Myriam (b. 1958) and Adolfo (1960–1994). Calero has three grandchildren. He had three younger siblings: Myriam (b. 1933-2018) Mario (1935–1993) and Martha (b. 1943).

Death

Calero died in Managua on June 2, 2012 after complications from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

and

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

. He was survived by his wife, daughter, three grandchildren, and two sisters.

In popular culture

In the 2017 film '' American Made'', he was portrayed by Daniel Lugo.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Calero, Adolfo 1931 births 2012 deaths Nicaraguan businesspeople Contras Nicaraguan rebels Nicaraguan revolutionaries Syracuse University alumni Place of birth missing University of Notre Dame alumni Conservative Party (Nicaragua) politicians Deaths from kidney failure Deaths from pneumonia in Nicaragua Nicaraguan anti-communists People of the Nicaraguan Revolution