Ben Linder

Benjamin Ernest Linder (July 7, 1959 — April 28, 1987), born in California, was a young American engineer who was killed in an ambush by a group of CIA-funded Contras while working on a small hydroelectric dam that was to bring electricity and running water to a village in the middle of Nicaragua's war zone. Linder's death made front-page headlines around the world and polarized opinion in the United States.

Related Topics:
July 7 - 1959 - April 28 - 1987 - California - American - Contra - Hydroelectric dam - Nicaragua

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While in College at the University of Washington, Linder enjoyed juggling and was often seen around Seattle riding a 5-6 foot tall unicycle. He graduated in 1983 with a degree in mechanical engineering.

Related Topics:
University of Washington - Juggling - Seattle - Unicycle

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He left his Oregon home that summer and moved to Managua. In 1986, Linder moved from Managua to El Cuá, a village in the Nicaraguan war zone, where he helped form a team to build a hydroplant to bring electricity to the town.

Related Topics:
Managua - El Cuá

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On 28 April, 1987, Linder and two Nicaraguans — Sergio Hernández and Pablo Rosales — were killed in the Contra ambush while working at the construction site for a new dam for the nearby village of San José de Bocay.

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The autopsy showed that Linder was first wounded by a grenade, then shot at point-blank range in the head. The two Nicaraguans were also murdered at close range, Rosales by a stab wound in the heart.

Related Topics:
Autopsy - Grenade

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Linder's electrification project was typical of Contra targets. Near El Cuá, the agricultural cooperative of El Cedro had been attacked three times resulting in a number of deaths. On March 19, 1987, shortly before Linder's death, four co-op members tried to fend off a Contra attack, providing cover for residents as they escaped. Two of them were killed, one a close friend of Linder's. The health clinic at the co-op, its food supply center, and a house were burned to the ground.

Related Topics:
March 19 - 1987

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The massacre of Linder and the Nicaraguans was a deliberate strategy on the part of the Contras to undermine support for the Sandinistas by engaging in a campaign of sabotage against the nation's economy and demonstrating the cost to the people if they continued to support their government.

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