In 1981, a secret directive authorized the CIA to support Nicaraguan rebels
In a move that would eventually spark one of the biggest political scandals of the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan signed a secret directive authorizing millions of dollars in covert support for Nicaraguan rebels.
On November 23, 1981, President Ronald Reagan signed National Security Decision Directive 17, a top-secret document that changed the course of American foreign policy. This order authorized the CIA to spend $19.5 million to recruit and support the Contras, a rebel group fighting the socialist Sandinista government in Nicaragua.
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