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The Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, otherwise known as Guardia or in English Nicaraguan National Guard, was a militia created during the occupation of that country by the United States. It became notorious for human rights abuses and corruption under the regime of the Somoza family. Occupation may refer to: the principal activity (job or calling) that earns money for a person (see profession, business) the periods of time following a nations territory invasion by controlling enemy troops (see belligerent occupation) any activity that occupies an important portion of a persons attention (see fan...
Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ...
Somoza was the name of an influential family dictatorship in Nicaragua. ...
Creation
Prior to the U.S. occupation, the long period of civil strife had encouraged the development of a variety of private armies. The freshly-elected government of President Carlos José Solórzano requested that the U.S. Marines (equally interested in central control) remain in Nicaragua until an indigenous security force could be trained; the Nicaraguan government hired a retired US General to set up the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua. US forces left in 1925, but after a brief resurgence of violence, returned in 1926, taking over command of the National Guard until 1933, when it was returned to Nicaraguan control under the government of Juan Bautista Sacasa. Carlos José Solórzano was President of Nicaragua 1925-1926. ...
United States Marine Corps Emblem The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the U.S. military. ...
Juan Bautista Sacasa was President of Nicaragua 1933-1936. ...
Sacasa, under political pressure from José María Moncada, who had been a leader of a rebel faction which later joined the government after U.S. mediation efforts, appointed Anastasio Somoza García as chief director of the National Guard. Somoza Garcia was trusted as a friend of Moncada, a supporter of the liberal revolt, and a nephew of Sacasa. He was trusted by the U.S. from his service as a translator to Henry Stimson during the 1927 peace conference, schooling in the U.S., and training under the U.S. Marines (apparently, as an officer in the National Guard). Anastasio Somoza GarcÃa (1896–September 21, 1956) President of Nicaragua. ...
Henry L. Stimson Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 - October 20, 1950) was an American politician. ...
After the departure of U.S. troops in 1933 (at the depth of the Great Depression), the Sacasa government opened negotiations with the rebel faction of Augusto César Sandino. Sandino insisted on the dissolution of the National Guard, leading Somoza Garcia to react ruthlessly by arresting and executing Sandino, in violation of a safe passage agreement Sacasa had given the rebel leader. The National Guard then swiftly defeated Sandino's forces, further weakening the Sacasa government. By this time the force had grown to some 3000 troops. The Great Depression was a massive global economic recession (or depression) that ran from 1929 to 1941. ...
Sandino (centre) en route to Mexico. ...
After using the influence of the National Guard to support Sacasa's re-election in 1936, Somoza Garcia flouted civilian power, installing military cronies in key civilian posts and forcing Sacasa to resign that June. With an ally appointed interim president, Somoza Garcia then resigned from the National Guard position of chief director in order to meet constitutional requirements to run for the presidency himself. Breaking with the party, he established the Partido Liberal Nacionalista (PLN, National Liberal Party) and won the election with a remarkable 107,201 votes to 108. On January 1, 1937, President Somoza Garcia reappointed himself chief director of the National Guard, beginning a military dictatorship that would last four decades.
Somoza régime Somoza Garcia rapidly took complete control of Nicaraguan institutions including the National Guard, promoting allies and purging enemies. The National Guard was the backbone of a growing network of control, eventually including telecommunications, railroads, and key civilian agencies from customs to hospitals to tax collection. In 1938, Somoza Garcia appointed a civilian assembly that rubber-stamped constitutional changes allowing him to stay in office; his personal fortune expanded as he and his family took over key areas of the private economy. Increasingly pervasive corruption comparable to a gangland mob, with bribery, kickbacks, and sometimes violent enforcement, protected the power of the Somoza family at all levels. The U.S. supported the National Guard through the World War II Lend-Lease act and under the terms of the Rio Treaty, but did not publicly approve of Somoza Garcia's extraconstitutional governance. The National Guard, which had been limited to small arms and was largely composed of rifle companies, began to acquire surplus equipment such as tanks and artillery. The Lend-lease Act of March 11, 1941 permitted the President of the United States to sell, transfer title to, exchange, lease, lend, or otherwise dispose of, to any such government [whose defense the President deems vital to the defense of the United States] any defense article. It thus extended...
The Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (commonly, Rio Treaty or the Spanish language acronym TIAR) was an agreement made in 1947 in Rio de Janiero among many American countries that states among its articles that an attack against one would be considered an attack against all, known as the...
The regime permitted nominal political dissent, and in 1947 agreed to elections, hoping to mollify both Washington and local opponents, but quickly deposed the winning candidate in a coup d'etat that brought strong disapproval from the United States. Under a new constitution, an assembly-appointed president, and a strong anti-communist stance relations improved. Nevertheless Somoza Garcia was the power behind the curtain and an increasing target of attempted coups and assassination; he even developed a personal bodyguard separate from the National Guard. In 1956, Somoza Garcia was fatally shot by a young dissident poet. State nickname: The Evergreen State Other U.S. States Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Governor Christine Gregoire (D) Official languages None Area 184,824 km² (18th) - Land 172,587 km² - Water 12,237 km² (6. ...
A coup détat, or simply a coup, is the sudden overthrow of a government, usually done by a small group that just replaces the top power figures. ...
Succeeded in the presidency by one son, Luis Somoza Debayle, he was succeeded as head of the National Guard by another, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Brutal repression of political opposition followed. In 1957, the National Guard was involved in the only external military action of its existence, a brief border skirmish with Honduras. The National Guard cooperated with the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency in the Bay of Pigs attempted invasion of Cuba, permitting its bases to be used for training and staging areas. In 1965, the National Guard participated in a peacekeeping operation in the Dominican Republic under the aegis of the OAS. Luis Somoza Debayle was the Acting President and later dictator and President of Nicaragua from 1956-1967 following his fathers assassination in 1956. ...
Anastasio Somoza Debayle (December 5, 1925 - September 17, 1980) was the President of Nicaragua from 1967 to 1972 and then from 1974 to 1979. ...
Alternate meanings: West Point (disambiguation). ...
The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is one of the American foreign intelligence agencies, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ...
The Bay of Pigs (Spanish: BahÃa de (los) Cochinos) is a bay on the southern coast of Cuba. ...
Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace. ...
The Organization of American States (OAS; OEA in the other three official languages) is an international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., USA. Its members are the 35 independent nations of the Americas. ...
Even as trusted friends of the family succeeded Luis in the presidency, his brother remained firmly in control of the National Guard. Eventually, in 1967, Anastasio himself was elected president; Luis soon died of a heart attack, leaving Anastasio in sole control. Without his brother's technocratic influence, Anastasio's corrupt ways were unrestrained. The 1972 earthquake, which severely damaged the capital of Managua, brought further evidence of corruption, as members of the National Guard openly looted damaged businesses and misappropriated international aid, 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. Managua, with a population of about 1,617,096 in 2004, is the capital of Nicaragua and 2nd largest city in Central America. ...
Sandinista! is also the name of a popular music album by The Clash. ...
Collapse After the election of Jimmy Carter in the United States, human rights objections left the Somoza Debayle government with its longstanding support from the U.S. severely diminished (direct military aid would end in 1978). After the assassination of opposition leader Pedro Chamorro, probably by National Guard members acting under the orders of Somoza Debayle, the public reacted with a series of nationwide strikes and increasing political organization against the regime. The National Guard grew to a force of more than 10,000, with localized security companies throughout the country and modern specialized units such as mechanized and engineer battalions, a Presidential Guard, and a reinforced tactical battalion. The strengthened National Guard continued to tighten its grip but opposition only grew broader and fiercer. After a humiliating hostage crisis with Sandinista rebels taking over the National Assembly, the regime worried about a coup d'etat from within the National Guard and purged many top officers. Order: 39th President Vice President: Walter Mondale Term of office: January 20, 1977 – January 20, 1981 Preceded by: Gerald Ford Succeeded by: Ronald Reagan Date of birth: October 1, 1924 Place of birth: Plains, Georgia First Lady: Rosalynn Carter Political party: Democratic James Earl Jimmy Carter, Jr. ...
Pedro Chamorro (September 23, 1924 - January 10, 1978) was the former husband of Nicaraguan President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro and the popular editor of La Prensa, the only powerful opposition paper to the long rule of the Somoza family. ...
In 1979, now facing an open civil war and losing territory and political allies, Somoza Debayle fled the country along with many members of the National Guard. First flying to Miami, he would later be assassinated in Paraguay. The Sandinista junta replaced the Gardia Nacional with two new bodies, the Ejército Popular Sandinista (EPS, Sandinista People's Army) and the Policía Sandinista (Sandinista Police). Eventually, alumni of the National Guard would be reconstituted, with the support of the CIA and Honduras, as the contra rebels. The Miami skyline, as it is seen from the northeast on Biscayne Bay. ...
The Contras (Spanish contrarrevolucionario, counter-revolutionary) were the armed opponents of Nicaraguas Sandinista National Liberation Front Government Junta of National Reconstruction following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle and the ending of the Somoza familys 43-year rule. ...
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