III.

The Revolution

In January 1978 Chamorro was assassinated in Managua, probably by associates of Somoza. This set off weeks of anti-government riots and demonstrations, a national strike, and scattered efforts at armed uprisings. While Somoza maintained control, his regime was shaken, and international opposition began to grow. In August a group of Sandinista commandos, led by Edén Pastora, known as Commandante Zero, seized Managua’s National Palace, taking many members of the Nicaraguan Congress as hostages. Through negotiations, the Sandinistas won the release of many FSLN prisoners, a ransom, publication of their call for the population to rebel, and safe passage out of the country for the commandos.

The Sandinistas’ successful raid encouraged anti-Somoza forces, and uprisings broke out across the country. Somoza’s troops defeated these with great brutality, bombing and shelling civilian neighborhoods. The government’s actions caused hundreds of Nicaraguans to join the FSLN and brought increased international pressures for a negotiated settlement to the conflict. A U.S.-sponsored effort at mediation collapsed, leaving the moderate political opposition discredited for negotiating with the dictatorship. To most Nicaraguans, even middle-class and business interests, the Sandinistas appeared to be the only alternative to continuing rule by the Somoza regime. The United States imposed limited economic sanctions against Somoza, but more important, Costa Rica, Venezuela, and Panama began covertly supporting the Sandinistas.

In May 1979 fighting broke out again as the Sandinistas announced a final offensive and called for a nationwide rebellion. This time the National Guard could not control the situation, and the rebels took large areas of the country. Battles were fought in major cities, including León, Masaya, and Managua, where National Guard planes bombed neighborhoods where people supported the Sandinistas. An emergency meeting of the Organization of American States called on Somoza to resign, rejecting a U.S. call to send peacekeeping troops to Nicaragua. The United States tried to negotiate a transition to a broad coalition government and to preserve some parts of the National Guard, but that effort failed. With much of the nation in Sandinista hands and with Managua surrounded, Somoza fled into exile, and the once-powerful National Guard disintegrated. On July 19, Sandinista forces marched into Managua and took control of the country.