National Liberation Front

anti-Somoza newspaper owner, admits that war is on the horizon. And before Kinzer leaves, he makes an exasperated statement about the relationship between the United States and Nicaragua: “The United States is the great, overwhelming factor in our national life and you don’t even know we exist!”

During most of the 20th century, Nicaragua was controlled by a dictatorship. The Somoza family controlled Nicaragua from 1936-1979. The first member of the Somoza family who ruled Nicaragua was Anastasio Somoza Garcia. He spoke fluent English and went to college at Louisiana State University. He fostered strong relations with the United States and because of that received quite a bit of money from the United States. Due to this, the economy of Nicaragua rose greatly and had one of the richest

8. Who was Norwin Meneses? What was his role in the Iran-Contra Scandal? (Be Specific) Norwin Meneses was the primary connection to Colombian cocaine in Nicaragua prior to the 1979 Sandinista takeover. He fled with Blandon and other Somoza sympathizers and became instrumental in the funding of the Contras through CIA sanctioned cocaine sales in America (OIG, 2016). As the Contra counter revolution began to form, he became the adviser to the military commander of the Contra forces. He was known drug

and the people arose. Some of these conflicts were mainly with the National Guard, but in 1978 conflicts hit its climax. In 1978, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, a salient newspaper editor and leader to the Somoza opposition was assassinated; it is believed that by one of Somoza’s business man. This mans death gave a deep feeling of commotion throughout the country, establishing a nation wide strike against the Somoza government. The National Guard responded to the attacks by assassinating many civilians and

BBC, 06 May 2004. Web. 13 May 2014). Since the National Guard didn’t have that many people, they started recruiting farmers who were kicked out because of the new farming system that the Sandinistas started using. The second group was lead by a dissatisfied Sandinistas leader, Eden Pastora. He set up

Intervention leads to more intervention, the U.S-Nicaragua relations in the 20th century prior to the Sandinistas is helpful in understanding the evolution of the concept of democracy, and thus in answering the question of whether the U.S can cause a positive impact on Nicaragua’s democracy considering that elections will be held in November this year. Ahead of said elections, Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua’s president, is seeking a third consecutive term, and has expressed that no international observers

The Sandinistas ' National Literacy Crusade of 1980 (CNA) significantly reduced the rate of illiteracy in Nicaragua from an estimated forty-three percent to twelve percent. Improvements to the literacy rate were short-lived. The instability of Nicaragua under the Sandinistas (1979-1990) effectively froze state-sponsored education programs, minimizing the potential of educational efforts after the 1980 campaign. The weakened Sandinista government, as well as inadequate preparation of post-CNA teachers

President of Nicaragua through an election. Anastasio Somoza Garcia was one of Sacasa’s subordinates. He was the head of the Nicaraguan National Guardsmen. In 1936, with the aid of the United States, the National Guardsmen overthrew Sacasa. The United States was instrumental in the efforts to overthrow Sacasa through providing food, training, and uniforms to the National Guardsmen. On January 1, 1937, Anastasio Somoza Garcia assumed the title of President of Nicaragua. The Somoza family dynasty remained

profound effect and contributed to the collapse of the Nicaraguan economy. “It was impossible to spend even a day in Nicaragua without becoming aware of the huge and unrelenting pressure being exerted on the country by the giant standing on the northern front” (p.24). While the USSR and Cuba funded the Nicaraguan army, the US financed the contras. The Contras were the various rebel groups that opposed the FSLN. The Contras received both overt and covert military and financial support from the US through

The Civil War in Nicaragua was one of the defining events from the 1980s, and it also happened to be a defining event in my personal life and that of my family. The argument in question was over the nature of the revolution in Nicaragua, and the political motivations of the Sandinistas. I said that the situation in my home country is not as black-and-white as it has been presented in the media. I believe the situation that gave rise to this argument is rooted in a lack of accurate media coverage