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---
category: "Iran-Contra"
tags:
- Person
- Person/Contra
- Nicaragua
- United_States
- 1980s
- Dark_Alliance_Investigation
summary: Wealthy Nicaraguan exile, FDN supporter, and relative of former president Violeta Barrios de Chamorro who introduced Norwin Meneses to Danilo Blandon and co-founded La Parrilla restaurant in Miami as a Contra gathering place.
---
Donald Barrios was a wealthy former insurance broker from Managua living in Miami who was a relative of former Nicaraguan president Violeta Barrios de Chamorro. He was an active [[FDN]] supporter and played a connecting role among Contra-linked drug traffickers in Miami.[^1]
### Introducing Meneses to Blandón
[[Norwin Meneses]] was introduced to [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]] through Barrios. After Meneses proposed that Blandón sell [[cocaine]] in [[Los Angeles]] to raise money for the [[Contras]], Barrios facilitated the initial connection. He later sent Blandón to fetch Meneses from LAX when Meneses first arrived in California in 1980 or 1981.[^1][^2]
### Business Activities in Miami
Barrios was in business with several of Blandón's FDN associates. In 1984, [[Roger Sandino]] set up an import-export business in Miami with the help of a Coral Gables attorney who was in business with Barrios and former National Guard major general [[Gustavo Medina]]. Barrios later co-founded La Parrilla, an elegant Nicaraguan restaurant in Miami, with Medina. The restaurant became a hangout for Contra leaders and was the site of pro-Contra demonstrations and seminars. The Miami Herald described the cuisine as "Contra cooking from ex-Somoza General Gustavo Medina." [[Henry Corrales]], Blandón's former cocaine distributor, also owned a piece of the restaurant.[^1][^2]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 6: "They were doing their patriotic duty"
[^2]: Webb, Gary. *Dark Alliance: The CIA, the Contras, and the Crack Cocaine Explosion.* Seven Stories Press, 1998. Chapter 21: "I could go anywhere in the world and sell dope"