36.5.3: From the Somozas to the Sandinistas in Nicaragua

Somoza Dynasty (1927-1979)

Over the course of its history, Nicaragua has experienced several military dictatorships; the longest was the hereditary dictatorship of the Somoza family, who ruled for 43 years during the 20th century. The Somoza family came to power as part of a U.S.-engineered pact in 1927 that stipulated the formation of the Guardia Nacional (National Guard) to replace the marines who had long reigned in Nicaragua. Anastasio Somoza slowly eliminated officers in the National Guard who might have stood in his way, then deposed President Juan Bautista Sacasa to become Nicaragua’s new president on January 1, 1937, in a rigged election. When Anastasio was shot and mortally wounded by Liberal Nicaraguan poet Rigoberto Lopez Perez on September 21, 1956, his eldest son, Luis Somoza Debayle, was appointed president by Congress and officially took charge of the country. He is remembered as moderate, but was only in power for a few years before dying of a heart attack. His successor as president was Rene Schick Gutierrez, widely considered a puppet of the Somoza family.

Somoza and Trujillo (1952): Dictator-General Anastasio Somoza (left) with Dominican President Rafael Trujillo in 1952.

The Somoza family was among a few families or groups of influential firms that reaped most of the benefits of the country’s growth from the 1950s to the 1970s. When Anastasio Somoza Debayle was deposed by the Sandinistas in 1979, the family’s worth was estimated between U.S. $500 million and $1.5 billion. In 1972 when an earthquake destroyed nearly 90% of Managua, Anastasio Somoza Debayle siphoned off relief money instead of helping to rebuild the city. Even the economic elite were reluctant to support Somoza following his actions as he had acquired monopolies in industries that were key to rebuilding the nation.

Nicaraguan Revolution (1960s-1990)

In 1961, Carlos Fonseca turned back to the historical figure of Augusto Cesar Sandino, the charismatic leader of Nicaragua’s nationalist rebellion against the U.S. occupation of the country, and along with two others, founded the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN). The December 1972 Managua earthquake was a major turning point in the revival of the Sandinistas, stoking violent opposition to the government during a time of heightened international attention. The Sandinistas even received some support from Cuba and the Soviet Union during this period.

On December 27, 1974, a group of nine FSLN guerrillas invaded a party at the home of a former Minister of Agriculture, killing him and three guards in the process of taking several leading government officials and prominent businessmen hostage. In return for the hostages, they succeeded in getting the government to pay U.S. $2 million ransom, the broadcast of an FSLN declaration on the radio and in the opposition newspaper La Prensa, the release of 14 FSLN members from jail, and flights for the raiders and the released FSLN members to Cuba. The incident humiliated the government and greatly enhanced the prestige of the FSLN. Anastasio Somoza Debayle, in his memoirs, refers to this action as the beginning 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 alliance with Somoza.

The country tipped into full-scale civil war with the 1978 murder of Pedro Chamorro, a Nicaraguan journalist and publisher who opposed violence against the regime. Fifty thousand people turned out for his funeral. Many assumed that Somoza ordered his assassination because there was evidence implicating Somoza’s son and other members of the National Guard. A nationwide strike commenced in protest, demanding an end to the dictatorship. At the same time, the Sandinistas stepped up their rate of guerrilla activity. Several towns, assisted by Sandinista guerrillas, expelled their National Guard units. Somoza responded with increasing violence and repression. When León became the first city in Nicaragua to fall to the Sandinistas, he responded with aerial bombardment.

The U.S. media grew increasingly unfavorable in its reporting on the situation in Nicaragua. Realizing that the Somoza dictatorship was unsustainable, the Carter administration attempted to force him to leave Nicaragua. Somoza refused and sought to maintain his power through the National Guard. At that point, the U.S. ambassador sent a cable to the White House saying it would be “ill-advised” to call off the bombing, because such an action would help the Sandinistas gain power. When ABC reporter Bill Stewart was executed by the National Guard and graphic film of the killing was broadcast on TV, the American public became more hostile to Somoza. In the end, President Carter refused Somoza further military aid, believing that the repressive nature of the government led to popular support for the Sandinista uprising.

Beginning of the Sandinista Period

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 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. The FSLN took over a nation plagued by malnutrition, disease, and pesticide contamination. Lake Managua was considered dead because of decades of pesticide runoff, toxic chemical pollution from lakeside factories, and untreated sewage. Soil erosion and dust storms were also a problem in Nicaragua due to deforestation. To tackle these crises, the FSLN created the Nicaraguan Institute of Natural Resources and the Environment.

The Sandinistas were victorious in the national election of November 4, 1984, gathering 67% of the vote. The election was certified “free and fair” by the majority of international observers, although the Nicaraguan political opposition and the Reagan administration claimed political restrictions were placed on the opposition by the government. The primary opposition candidate was the U.S.-backed Arturo Cruz, who succumbed to pressure from the United States government not to take part in the 1984 elections. Other opposition parties such as the Conservative Democratic Party and the Independent Liberal Party were free to denounce the Sandinista government and participate in the elections. Later, historians such as Christopher Andrews did find evidence that the FSLN was actively suppressing right-wing opposition parties while leaving moderate parties alone.

Communist Leanings and U.S. Contras

American support for the Somoza family soured diplomatic relations with Nicaragua. The FSLN government was committed to a Marxist ideology, with many leading Sandinista individuals continuing long-standing relationships with the Soviet Union and Cuba. U.S. President Carter initially hoped that continued American aid to the new government would keep the Sandinistas from forming a Marxist-Leninist government aligned with the Soviet bloc, but the Carter administration allotted the Sandinistas minimal funding, and the Sandinistas resolutely turned away from the United States, investing Cuban and East European assistance into a new army of 75,000. The buildup included T-55 heavy tanks, heavy artillery, and HIND attack helicopters, an unprecedented military buildup that made the Sandinista Army more powerful than all of its neighbors combined.

The first challenge to the powerful new army came from the Contras, groups of Somoza’s National Guard that had fled to Honduras and were organized, trained, and funded by CIA elements involved in cocaine trafficking in Central America. The Contra chain of command included some ex-National Guardsmen, including Contra founder and commander Enrique Bermúdez. One prominent Contra commander, however, was ex-Sandinista hero Edén Pastora, aka “Commadante Zero”, who rejected the Leninist orientation of his fellow commandantes. The Contras operated out of camps in neighboring Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. They engaged in a systematic campaign of terror among the rural Nicaraguan population er to disrupt the social reform projects of the Sandinistas. The Contra campaign and supporting Reagan administration came under criticism for the brutality and numerous human rights violations related to these operations, including the destruction of health centers, schools, and cooperatives at the hands of the rebels.

With the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980, relations between the United States and the Sandinista regime became an active front in the Cold War. The Reagan administration insisted that the Sandinistas posed a Communist threat, reacting particularly to the support provided to them by Cuban president Fidel Castro and the Sandinistas’ close military relations with the Soviets and Cubans. Opposition to the Sandanistas also furthered the Reagan administration’s desire to protect U.S. interests in the region, which were threatened by the policies of the Sandinista government. The U.S. quickly suspended aid to Nicaragua and expanded the supply of arms and training to the Contra rebels in neighboring Honduras, as well as allied groups based in Costa Rica. American pressure against the government escalated throughout 1983 and 1984. The Contras began a campaign of economic sabotage and disrupted shipping by planting underwater mines in Nicaragua’s Port of Corinto, an action condemned by the International Court of Justice as illegal. The U.S. refused to pay restitution and claimed that the ICJ was not competent to judge the case. The UN General Assembly also passed a resolution in order to pressure the U.S. to pay the fine.

On May 1, 1985, Reagan issued an executive order that imposed a full economic embargo on Nicaragua, which remained in force until March 1990. However, in 1982, legislation was enacted by the U.S. Congress to prohibit further direct aid to the Contras. Reagan’s officials attempted to illegally supply them out of the proceeds of arms sales to Iran and third-party donations, triggering the Iran-Contra Affair of 1986–87. Mutual exhaustion, Sandinista fears of Contra unity and military success, and mediation by other regional governments led to the Sapoa ceasefire between the Sandinistas and the Contras on March 23, 1988. Subsequent agreements were designed to reintegrate the Contras and their supporters into Nicaraguan society in preparation for general elections.

Attributions

• From the Somozas to the Sandinistas in Nicaragua
  • “Nicaragua.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaragua. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “History of Nicaragua.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Nicaragua. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “Sandinista National Liberation Front.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandinista_National_Liberation_Front. Wikipedia CC BY-SA 3.0.
  • “Trujillo-Somoza_1952.jpg.” https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Trujillo-Somoza_1952.jpg. Wikimedia Commons Public domain.