Political Leadership
The FDN's political leadership was based in Miami, Florida, though critics always questioned how much control the political wing truly had over the military forces.
Originally, the head of the UDN, José Francisco Cardenal, also assumed political leadership of the new FDN, along with Mariano Mendoza and Aristides Sánchez. However, by autumn 1982 he had alienated both the FDN's military command and its Miami political executive committee, as well as the Argentine advisors.
On December 8, 1982, the FDN announced a new political directorate to replace the triumvirate. It included Lucía Cardenal Salazar (widow of Jorge Salazar), Edgar Chamorro, Alfonso Callejas, Indalecio Rodríguez, Marco Zeledon, and Enrique Bermúdez. There was also a seat for Steadman Fagoth of the allied MISURA, and for an unnamed member supposedly still in Nicaragua. Speculation fingered Adolfo Calero, who decided it would be imprudent to return to Nicaragua from a late December trip. In early 1983, Calero joined the directorate, becoming president of the FDN in early October.
On December 28, 1983, the FDN announced the formation of a civic-military board, consisting of Calero as president and commander-in-chief, Bermúdez as military commander, Chamorro as communications chief, and Rodríguez as chief of civil services. Chamorro was booted from the movement in November 1984, and became a critic of the rebels.
In June 1985, the FDN joined the United Nicaraguan Opposition, headed by a triumvirate of Calero, Alfonso Robelo, and Arturo Cruz. The FDN comprised the overwhelming majority of UNO's military forces, and Robelo and Cruz complained that Calero refused to share real power with them. UNO collapsed in early 1987.
In the fall of 1986, the FDN formed a political party, FODENIC (Fomento Democrático Nicaragüense).
In May 1987, the FDN became a part of the Nicaraguan Resistance. Its directorate announced the dissolution of the separate rebel forces, declaring the FDN to be the "Northern Front" of a united army. Although militarily the practical effect was slight, politically it prevented Calero from dominating the Resistance directorate as he had UNO.
Read more about this topic: Nicaraguan Democratic Force
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