October 5, 1986 - The cover-up of the Iran-Contra scandal began to unravel when Eugene Hasenfus was captured by government troops in Nicaragua after the plane in which he was flying was shot down; three others on the plane died in the crash. Under questioning, Hasenfus confessed that he had been shipping military supplies from the U.S. into Nicaragua for use by the contras, an insurgent force trying to bring down the the country’s Sandanista government.
The contras had been recruited and trained by the United States, and supported financially in violation of specific law passed by Congress that forbade it. The operation was directed from the White House and run by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Funding came from the sale of nearly 1500 missiles to Iran for use in its war with Iraq, though weapons sales to Iran were also illegal.
