The 1979 Sandinista revolution in Nicaragua was stopped in its tracks by US intervention. Like in so many other countries in Latin America and around the world, the US intervened to eradicate any perceived communist threat. Under Reagan, the USA sold illegal arms to Iran to fund counterrevolutionary paramilitary groups known as the Contra, leading to a civil war in Nicaragua that lasted throughout the 1980's, cost millions of lives and devastated the country's economy. The Sandinistas lost power in 1990 but are still an active political force. In Leon, cradle of the revolution, faded murals commemorate ideals of social justice and equality.