"Sandinista National Liberation Front (, FSLN); Moisés Hassan Morales, of the pro-Sandinista National Patriotic Front (, FPN); Luis Alfonso Robelo Callejas, with the Nicaraguan Democratic Movement (, MDN); and Sergio Ramirez Mercado for the Group of Twelve (). This directorate, which initially promised an independent judiciary, free elections, free enterprise and a free press, was assisted by an 18-member Cabinet and a 33-member Council, whose membership represented a broad spectrum of Nicaraguan society. After the civil war of 1978-1979 and last-minute transferring of the national treasury to foreign banks by the Somoza regime, the country was devastated and it was"
"the populace, elements of the Catholic Church, and regional and international governments took power in July 1979. Somoza abandoned the country and eventually ended up in Paraguay, where he was assassinated in September 1980, allegedly by members of the 'Argentinian Revolutionary Workers' Party. The key large-scale programs of the Sandinistas included a massive National Literacy Crusade (March–August 1980), social program], which received international recognition for their gains in literacy, health care, education, childcare, unions, and land reform. United States President Jimmy Carter, who had cut off aid to Somoza's Nicaragua the previous year, initially chose to give aid to the"
"Somoza regime. The Sandinistas forcefully took power in July 1979, ousting Somoza, and prompting the exodus of the majority of Nicaragua's middle class, wealthy landowners, and professionals, many of whom settled in the United States. The Carter administration decided to work with the new government, while attaching a provision for aid forfeiture if it was found to be assisting insurgencies in neighboring countries. Somoza fled the country and eventually ended up in Paraguay, where he was assassinated in September 1980, allegedly by members of the Argentinian Revolutionary Workers' Party. In 1980, the Carter administration provided $60 million in aid to"
"in charge of internal security and elections. In 1934, Anastasio Somoza García, the head of the National Guard, ordered his forces to capture and murder Sandino. In 1937, Somoza assumed the presidency, while still in control of the National Guard, and established a dictatorship that his family controlled until 1979. The downfall of the regime is attributed to its embezzlement of millions of dollars in foreign aid that was given to the country in response to the devastating 1972 earthquake. Many moderate supporters of the dictatorship began abandoning it in the face of growing revolutionary sentiment. The Sandinista (FSLN) movement"
"vulnerability of the Somoza regime. It also helped the FSLN win support from Latin American governments, unite diverse factions of the opposition to the regime, and prompt them into action. Following the operation, thousands of youths and women joined the Sandinista movement. A popular insurrection grew along with the FSLN and contributed to the fall of the Somoza regime on July 19, 1979. Upon her arrival in Panama with the released Sandinistas in August 1978, Téllez trained in Cuba and Panama to become a military commander. In February 1979 she was back fighting in Nicaragua and she went on to"
"Somoza Debayle. Although a brutal dictatorship, it was supported by the United States as a means to maintain political stability in the region and shore up U.S. business interests. The Somoza dynasty was overthrown in the Sandinista Revolution in 1979, which took a stance that U.S. President Ronald Reagan took to be hostile to the United States. During the 1980s, the Sandinista regime maintained power, but in 1990 elections were held. The Sandinistas were defeated and stepped down from governance, becoming an opposition party. They returned to power in 2006. Cuba was a colony of Spain until the Spanish–American War"
"supervised negotiations between the FSLN and the government. However, these broke down when it became clear that the Somoza regime had no intention of allowing democratic elections to take place. By June the FSLN controlled all of the country except the capital, and on 17 July 1979 President Somoza resigned and the FSLN entered Managua, giving full control of the government to the revolutionary movements. Immediately following the fall of the Somoza regime, Nicaragua was largely in ruins. The country had suffered both war and, earlier, natural disaster in the form of the devastating 1972 Nicaragua earthquake. In 1979, approximately"
"the United Provinces of Central America. In 1838, the union dissolved and Nicaragua became an independent nation. One year later, in 1839, Mexico and Nicaragua established diplomatic relations. In 1937, the first of the Somoza presidents of Nicaragua took power. In the 1960s, the Nicaraguan Revolution began by a rebel group called the Sandinista National Liberation Front. During that time period Mexico, although initially a supporter of the Somoza's, soon changed position and offered support to the Sandinistas. In May 1979, Mexico broke diplomatic relations with Nicaragua over repeated human rights abuses carried out by the government of Anastasio Somoza"
"of a sharp escalation in terms of Sandinista attacks and government reprisals. Martial law was declared in 1975, and the National Guard began to raze villages in the jungle suspected of supporting the rebels. Human rights groups condemned the actions, but U.S. President Gerald Ford refused to break the U.S. alliance with Somoza. The country tipped into full-scale civil war with the 1978 murder of Pedro Chamorro, who had opposed violence against the regime. 50,000 turned out for his funeral. It was assumed by many that Somoza had ordered his assassination (evidence implicated Somoza's son and other members of the"
"comply were fined by the police, or after 1933 the National Guard. In August 1955 a law was passed prohibiting the promotion of prostitution. By then the national Guard had taken control of prostitution in the country. The only people jailed for controlling prostitution were those who wouldn't pay the required bribes. Starting in the 1960s President Somoza's business empire moved into prostitution and gambling houses. The National Guard (who Somoza was the head of), through being bribed, ensured these establishments flourished. After Somoza was deposed in 1979 by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN)), one of their first actions"
"the founder and leader of the Sandinista movement, Carlos Fonseca Amador. For about 12 hours he stayed in a secret house where Fonseca spoke about Nicaragua's political crisis and reminded him of his responsibility for the intellectual validation and support to Somoza's political regime, and the need to now support the end of Somoza's era. That conversation had a deep impact on him and kept in secret until later published in 1986. After the Sandinista National Liberation Front led Nicaragua's 1979 Revolution, which ended more than 40 years of Somoza's family control over Nicaragua, Coronel Urtecho become a passionate supporter"
"reaction by the lower classes of Latin American society to unjust land tenure, labor coercion, and unequal political representation. Landed property had taken hold of the economic and political landscape of the region, giving large corporations a lot of influence over the region and forcing formerly subsistent farmers and lower-class workers into very harsh living conditions. The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) overthrew the 46-year-long Somoza dictatorship in 1979. However, the United States opposed the Nicaraguan revolution, and instead backed the Somoza dictatorship and later the Contras. Fought between the military-led government of El Salvador and the Farabundo Martí National"
"that the repressive nature of the government had led to popular support for the Sandinista uprising. In May 1979, another general strike was called, and the FSLN launched a major push to take control of the country. By mid July they had Somoza and the National Guard isolated in Managua. As Nicaragua's government collapsed and the National Guard commanders escaped with Somoza, the U.S. first promised and then denied them exile in Miami. The rebels advanced on the capital victoriously. On July 19, 1979, a new government was proclaimed under a provisional junta headed by 33-year-old Daniel Ortega and including"
"Nicaraguan Revolution The Nicaraguan Revolution () encompassed the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) to violently oust the dictatorship in 1978–79, the subsequent efforts of the FSLN to govern Nicaragua from 1979 until 1990 and the Contra War which was waged between the FSLN-led government of Nicaragua and the United States-backed Contras from 1981-1990. The Revolution marked a significant period in Nicaraguan history and revealed the country as one of the major proxy war battlegrounds of the Cold War with the events in the country"
"the Nationalist Liberal Party, and though the Somoza regime was overthrown in 1979, the conservative party has never recovered the amount of power that it had during previous times. Many conservatives, however, vigorously opposed the Somoza regime, and for the 1967 elections formed a 1966 National Opposition Union with other parties opposed to the Somoza regime. In the first elections after the Revolution, in 1984, the Conservatives finished runner-up behind the FSLN. In 1990 the Conservative Party joined the National Opposition Union to successfully oppose the Sandinista National Liberation Front in elections. Following the rapid collapse of that party, the"
"controlling a national insurrection of citizens eager to join the anti-Somoza movement. Hard-core Sandinista guerrillas numbered perhaps 2,000 to 3,000; untrained popular militias and foreign supporters added several thousand more to this total. Although the ""first offensive"" of September 1978 declined toward the end of the year, fighting did not completely stop. The FSLN mounted its ""final offensive"" in May 1979, capturing a number of cities in June, and launching a three-pronged assault against Managua in early July. When Anastasio Somoza Debayle, strongly urged by the United States, resigned on July 16 and fled the country, the National Guard collapsed"
"in 1975. He, among others leaders, crafted the urban insurrection strategy that ignited civil war in Nicaragua in October 1977 which led to the fall of the Somoza dynastic dictatorship in July 1979. As Minister of Defense during the decade of Sandinista rule, Ortega oversaw the buildup of the Sandinista Popular Army (EPS) and the prosecution of the war against the ""contra"" resistance factions and their peasant support base. Following the electoral defeat of Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista Party in 1990, Humberto maintained control of the military. Later that year accusations arose against Humberto claiming his involvement in the"
"its grip but opposition only grew broader and fiercer. A humiliating hostage crisis ensued in August 1978 when Sandinista rebels led by ""Comandante Cero (Commander Zero)"" future Contra leader Edén Pastora took over the National Assembly. This hostage crisis was the second major action launched by the Sandinistas. By March 1979, the Somoza regime faced an open civil war as well as being cut off from all aid by the United States, including blocking of a shipment of weapons and ammunition coming from Israel. With ammunition, spare parts, fuel, and medical supplies running dangerously low, the increasingly hard-pressed National Guard"
"he said he felt toward Americans like himself. His picture and silhouette, complete with the oversized cowboy hat, were adopted as recognized symbols of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, founded in 1961 by Carlos Fonseca and Tomás Borge, among others, and later led by Daniel Ortega. Sandino has been idolized by notable Latin American figures including Che Guevara, Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez. His brand of guerrilla warfare was effectively used by Castro, FARC in Colombia, the Sandinistas, and the FMLN in El Salvador. In 1979 Somoza's son, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, was overthrown by the Sandinistas, political descendants of Sandino."
"of experienced American experts who could understand Latin American customs. Following the American occupation of Nicaragua in 1912, as part of the Banana Wars, the Somoza family political dynasty came to power, and would rule Nicaragua until their ouster in 1979 during the Nicaraguan Revolution. The era of Somoza family rule was characterized by strong U.S. support for the government and its military[15] as well as a heavy reliance on U.S.-based multi-national corporations. The Nicaraguan Revolution (Spanish: Revolución Nicaragüense or Revolución Popular Sandinista) encompassed the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by"
"regime. By mid-April 1979, five guerrilla fronts opened under the joint command of the FSLN, including an internal front in the capital city Managua. Young guerrilla cadres and the National Guardsmen were clashing almost daily in cities throughout the country. The strategic goal of the Final Offensive was the division of the enemy's forces. Urban insurrection was the crucial element because the FSLN could never hope to achieve simple superiority in men and firepower over the National Guard. On June 4, a general strike was called by the FSLN to last until Somoza fell and an uprising was launched in"
"1979, the United States suspended all foreign aid to Nicaragua due to Somoza's unwillingness to compromise. By July, he had fled the country. FSLN Sandinista forces quickly assumed power in Managua, and the United States quickly moved to recognize the legitimacy of the new government and offer aid, however the FSLN chose instead to look to global Communist interests including the Soviets and Cubans for support. By 1980, the Government of National Recognition (GRN) under Cuban influence had begun installing pro-Marxist, anti-U.S. doctrine into the Nicaraguan educational system. U.S. policy on Nicaragua began to favor support for anti-Sandinista ""contras,"" because"
"out of 146 countries, with an overall value of 0.511 out of 1 in terms of HDI (with 1 representing perfect inequality). After the 1979 Nicaraguan Revolution in which the Sandinistas led by Daniel Ortega deposed the dictatorial president Anastasio Somoza Debayle, they implemented a number of social reforms, including trying to eliminate gender inequality and improve female literacy rates. They also encouraged women to participate in the fight for social justice and equality (Source: BBC: In Pictures: Sandinista Revolution remembered: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-10689502). According to the Human Development Report Office of the United Nations Development Programme, in Bolivia ""men receive more"
"at the home of President Rodrigo Carazo Odio in Puntarenas with William Boudlerom, representative of the US government. At that meeting, Borge rejected the proposal to replace Somoza with Urcuyos Maliaños Francisco, President of the Congress, as established in the Constitution of 1974 would take place in the absence of the president. Somoza fled on 17 July and Urcuyos was named president. Not too long after, Urcuyos was overthrown and power was passed to the Joint Government of National Reconstruction. On July 19, 1979, FSLN troops entered Managua and proclaimed the Sandinista Revolution. Borge, reputed to be the most radical"
"fighting within the ranks of the Sandinistas. A special commando team from Argentina worked in conjunction with Somoza's OSN (Office of National Security) and its Argentine advisors with the objective of capturing exiled squadrons from the ERP and the Montoneros. Following the overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle by the Sandinista Front, Argentina played a central role in the formation of the Contras. Shortly after the Sandinista victory in July 1979, agents from Argentine intelligence began to organize exiled members of Somoza's National Guard residing in Guatemala into an anti-Sandinista insurgency. Following the election of U.S. President Ronald Reagan, the Argentine"
"and Somoza Debayle's personal wealth soared during the reconstruction period. In 1974, the growing Sandinista movement FSLN (named after the assassinated Sandino) succeeded in forcing the government to accept an amnesty, after which Somoza Debayle declared a state of siege and the National Guard launched a violent and repressive reaction. Though the FSLN was weakened, so was the regime. Direct U.S. military aid ended in November 1978 though the U.S. still attempted to pursue a policy of ""Somocismo sin Somoza,"" effectively allowing the power structure of the National Guard to prevent a Sandinista victory while removing the increasingly unpopular Somoza"
"Nicaragua until his death in 1967, when he suffered a massive heart attack in Managua at the age of 44. Under Luis Somoza's regime, Nicaragua played a key role leading to the creation of the Central American Common Market, with the Alliance for Progress backing that common market's creation. During the Bay of Pigs Invasion, he allowed the CIA-trained Cuban rebels to embark from Puerto Cabezas, on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast. The Sandinistas began their struggle against the government in 1963—a struggle that would oust his brother in 1979. He is entombed at Cementerio Occidental with his father, in the National"
"the National Guard of Somoza, the dictator who had been overthrown in the 1979 Revolution. The Contras were joined also by former revolutionaries who had turned against the Sandinista policies; a third source of personnel were farmers angered by the Sandinista land reform and American Indians. The Contras had financial and military support from the Central Intelligence Agency of the U.S. However, a CIA-supported manual advocating killing Sandinista politicians and poisoning wells in Nicaragua, as well as mining harbors, provoked a backlash. The House Appropriations Bill of 1982 contained the Boland Amendment, which outlawed U.S. assistance to the Contras for"
"to humiliating FSLN demands for ransom and political freedom for fourteen FSLN prisoners. The National Guard followed with a major counteroffensive that reduced armed resistance in the countryside. The FSLN remained on the defensive until 1977, but the guard's harsh reprisals caused popular feeling to swing even more toward the Sandinistas. The seizure of the National Palace by a small group of Sandinistas in August 1978 sparked a mass uprising in the following month. The uprising was a turning point in the struggle to overthrow Anastasio Somoza Debayle. The FSLN no longer was fighting alone but rather was organizing and"
"United States but were also quite often a source of dispute with Cuba's ostensible allies in the Kremlin. The Sandinista insurgency in Nicaragua, which led to the demise of the Somoza dictatorship in 1979, was openly supported by Cuba. However, it was on the African continent where Cuba was most active, supporting a total of 17 liberation movements or leftist governments, in countries including Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique. Its Angolan involvement was particularly intense and noteworthy with heavy assistance given to the Marxist–Leninist MPLA in the Angolan Civil War. Cuba's involvement in the Angolan Civil War began"
"heroes in the fight against Somoza, organized the Sandinista Revolutionary Front (FRS) – embedded in the Democratic Revolutionary Alliance (ARDE) – and declared war on the Sandinista government. Himself a former Sandinista who had held several high posts in the government, he had resigned abruptly in 1981 and defected, believing that the newly found power had corrupted the Sandinista's original ideas. A popular and charismatic leader, Pastora initially saw his group develop quickly. He confined himself to operate in the southern part of Nicaragua; after a press conference he was holding on 30 May 1984 was bombed, he ""voluntarily withdrew"""
"the Sandinistas; individuals suspected of supporting the Front were targeted. The Front, named after Augusto César Sandino (a Nicaraguan rebel leader in the 1920s), began its guerrilla war against the Somozas in 1963 and was funded by the Soviet Union and Cuba under Fidel Castro. Support for the Sandinistas ballooned after the earthquake, especially when U.S President Jimmy Carter withdrew American support for the regime for human rights reasons. At this point, the opposition to the Somozas included not only Sandinistas, but other prominent figures such as Pedro Chamorro (assassinated on January 10, 1978). Israel was the last supplier of"
"and members of civil society who publicly stated their support for the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) in its struggle to topple the Presidency of Anastasio Somoza Debayle. With the triumph of the Revolution in 1979, he became part of the Junta of the Government of National Reconstruction, where he presided over the National Council of Education. He was elected vice-president of Nicaragua in 1984 and was sworn in 1985. Though the FSLN lost power to the UNO coalition headed by Violeta Barrios de Chamorro in 1990, Ramírez continued to serve as the leader of the Sandinista block in"