Nicaragua

The Republic of Nicaragua (República de Nicaragua) belongs to the larger region of Central America claimed as Spanish territory in the 16th century and designated the Captaincy General of Guatemala. Granted independence from Spain in 1821, the nation later briefly joined the Mexican Empire along with its neighbors (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Chiapas). All but Chiapas chose to leave after a short period to form the United Provinces of Central America. When this union began to dissolve, however, the nations chose to go their seperate ways and in 1840 Nicaragua became an independent republic.

The United States first became involved in Nicaraguan politics in 1909 when it provided support to a group of insurgents rebelling against the government. This involvement ultimately led to a military intervention, with US Marines occupying Nicaraguan soil from 1912 until 1933 and occasionally clashing with the anti-conservative guerilla movement led by General Augusto César Sandino. The Guardia Nacional (National Guard) was trained and supplied by the US military, and Anastasio Somoza García put in charge of the new organization, in the hopes of maintaining loyalty to US interests.

Somoza engineered his election as president in 1937 after eliminating any politican or military opponents, marking the beginning of the Somoza dynasty in Nicaragua, which lasted until 1979. When he was assissinated in 1956, his son Luis Somoza Debayle was appointed president by Congress and ruled for a few years before his death by heart attack. Shortly thereafter, his brother Anastasio Somoza Debayle took control of the presidency and ruled the nation with an iron fist much as his father did.

Established in 1961, the socialist Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (Sandinista National Liberation Front) or FSLN experienced marked growth in support after the 1972 earthquake left Managua devastated while Somoza siphoned off relief money for the benefit of himself and his supporters. Responding to the increasing brutality and intimidation by the government and members of the National Guard, the FSLN or Sandinistas led a popular revolt which ended in the party siezing power in July 1979.

Dissatisfied with the Marxist ideals of the Sandinista government and its close relationship with Cuba, in 1981 the United States began a covert program to train and support anti-Sandinista guerillas (nicknamed contrarrevolucionarios). The Contra movement, as it came to be known collectively, consisted of several groups: the FDN, ARDE, YATAMA, and the Misurasata movement of indigenous Indians. The war between the Contras and the Sandinista government would last until 1990, with both sides repeatedly being accused of innumerable human rights abuses.