Adolfo Calero Portocarrero (December 22, 1931 – June 2, 2012) was a

Nicaraguan Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

businessman and the leader of the

Nicaraguan Democratic Force The Nicaraguan Democratic Force (', or FDN) was one of the earliest Contra groups, formed on August 11, 1981 in Guatemala City. It was formed to oppose Nicaragua's revolutionary Sandinista government following the 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somo ...

, the largest rebel group of the

Contras The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua, which came to power in 1979 fol ...

, opposing the

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

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 Washingto ...

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 territorie ...

, graduating from

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

in 1953 and

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

. 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 Atlanta ...

bottling plant. Calero was associated with the

Conservative Party of Nicaragua The Conservative Party () is a conservative political party in Nicaragua. Its slogan is “Dios, Orden, Justicia” (), often depicted on the three sides of a triangle. History The party is the oldest currently existing in Nicaragua. It was fo ...

. From 1963, he was a

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

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

(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 Luis Alfonso Robelo Callejas (born October 11, 1939),is a Nicaraguan businessman, was the founder of the Nicaraguan Democratic Movement (MDN). Early life and education Luis Alfonso Robelo Callejas was born in Leon, Nicaragua on October 11, 1 ...

and

Arturo Cruz Arturo José Cruz Porras (December 18, 1923 – July 9, 2013), sometimes called Arturo Cruz Sr. to distinguish him from his son, was a Nicaraguan banker and technocrat. He became prominent in politics during the Sandinista (FSLN) era. After repeate ...

. Calero controlled the FDN through his deputy,

Aristides Sánchez José Aristides Sánchez Herdocia served as a key political figure among the Nicaraguan Contras. Early on, he joined Enrique Bermúdez in efforts to start a rebel opposition to the new Sandinista government, a hand-picked choice of the CIA for ...

, 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 severity ...

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