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The Sandinistas, a revolutionary left wing movement, had come to power in Nicaragua in 1979 following a popular uprising that overthrew the Somoza dictatorship. The Sandinistas implemented a number of progressive policies and the US, which saw their socialist agenda as a threat to its interests, promoted the Contras, a rebel group fighting against the Sandinistas, with military and financial aid. The Contra war, which gained momentum by 1983, lasted until 1990 and resulted in the deaths of an estimated 30,000 people.