History UsefulNotes / Nicaragua

'''Fiction involving Nicaragua:'''

* ''Film/AlsinoAndTheCondor'' - by Chilean director Miguel Littin.
* ''Ballad of the Little Soldier'' (originally ''Ballade vom kleinen Soldate'' in German) - Creator/WernerHerzog film about ChildSoldiers in the Miskito's "army", once ally of the Sandinistas, later enemy of them.
* ''Under Fire'' - Gene Hackman as a reporter covering the fall of Somoza's regime.
* ''Film/{{Walker|1987}}'' - AnachronismStew about William Walker, one of those Southerners that, during the years preceding the American Civil War, tried to expand the slaving territory to the countries below (he actually came to be President of Nicaragua for a short while, go figure). Every Nicaraguan today knows his name, but few Americans have heard of him.
* ''Music/{{Sandinista}}'' by Music/TheClash was inspired by the 1979 takeover by the leftwing Sandinista rebels of the rightwing dictatorship of the Somozas, with the song "Washington Bullets" specifically referencing the situation.
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidPeaceWalker'' - involves Sandinista rebels in Costa Rica [[spoiler:as well as having a crucial battle set in Nicaragua]].
* ''ComicBook/FuryMyWarGoneBy'': One chapter covers Fury's time in Nicaragua training local soldiers, where he runs into the other US-provided forces using the entire situation to smuggle drugs.
* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII'': [[BigBad Raoul Menendez]] is from here, with the mission "Time and Fate" being set during the raid of his cartel in Wasa King in 1986 which killed his sister, Josefina, and started the events of the game.
* The opening mission of ''VideoGame/GhostReconFutureSoldier'' takes place in Nicaragua.
* ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'': Beavis' famous alter-ego Cornholio claims to be from Lake Titicaca in Nicaragua. Lake Titicaca is actually in UsefulNotes/{{Peru}}, but, of course, this ''is'' [[TheDitz Beavis]].

[[AC:The Nicaraguan flag]]
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nicaragua_flag_6467.png
->The flag and coat-of-arms evokes that of the Federal Republic of Central America, symbolizing its past aspirations to reform the union after it broke apart in 1841. The coat-of-arms consists of the triangle of equality; within it are five mountains between two seas, representing the nations of the former union -- Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Costa Rica -- situated between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans; above the mountains is the Phyrgian cap, symbolizing freedom, and arching above the scenery is the rainbow of peace. The only differentiation is that the arms' surrounding words show Nicaragua's full name in Spanish.

Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua ('''Spanish''': República de Nicaragua), is the largest country in Central America. It’s sometimes called “the land of lakes and volcanoes”, which should tell you enough about its geography. It’s a Spanish-speaking country, but it still keeps a notable indigenous as well as Afro-Caribbean culture (particularly in the sparsely populated Eastern half of the country) and is ethnically mixed.

When the Spanish first reached Nicaragua in 1522,[[note]]UsefulNotes/ChristopherColumbus explored the eastern coast of the country in 1502 during his fourth voyage, though it didn't amount to anything.[[/note]] Nicaragua was inhabited by three different groups of people: the Niquirano, the Chorotega, and the Chontal. The Niquirano (also known as the Nicarao, from whom the country got its name) were a Nahua people who migrated from UsefulNotes/ElSalvador in the 13th century (they ultimately originated from UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}}, just like the rest of the Nahua), while the Chorotega were related to the Mixtecs and Zapotecs of Mexico, having migrated to the land in the 7th century. Nobody knows when the Chontal arose, and they might very well be indigenous to the region. Following the Spanish conquest, the Niquirano and Chorotega were exterminated and assimilated by the Spanish to produce the current mestizo population, while the Chontal communities survived by virtue of living far away from the Spanish center of power. Some African slaves who escaped from the Caribbean sought refuge in Eastern Nicaragua, where they intermarried with the Chontal and produced a unique, indigenous-speaking, Afro-Caribbean population known as the Miskito.

During the colonial period, Nicaragua was administered as part of the Captaincy General of UsefulNotes/{{Guatemala}}, a province of New Spain. It became independent from UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} in 1821, together with four other Central American countries and Mexico. After breaking away from Mexico in 1823, the five Central American countries (Nicaragua, UsefulNotes/{{Honduras}}, UsefulNotes/ElSalvador, UsefulNotes/CostaRica and Guatemala) formed a short lived "United Provinces of Central America" before breaking apart in the 1841.

We'd be amiss if we did not mention the most famous Nicaraguan of them all: Rubén Darío (1867-1916) who is considered among the most important poets of the Spanish language in ever, second only to the likes of Creator/MiguelDeCervantes. Darío was born in a city now called Ciudad Darío and his adopted León has both a street named after him (in a country where most streets have no name) and a quite grandiose museum in his honor in addition to many, many statues and busts. Ever since Darío, Nicaragua had a particular fondness for poetry and if you have met a handful of Nicaraguans, you will most likely have met someone considering themself a poet. Nicaraguan poets have often been politically active as well, whether it be Rigoberto López Pérez, who shot the first Somoza in 1956 killing him and subsequently being shot and killed himself or Leonel Rugama who is most famous for his last line, which he uttered upon being surrounded by Somoza's men and asked to surrender "Que se rinda tu madre" - Your momma surrender. He was of course killed aged not yet 21. Another famous Nicaraguan author and poet is Ernesto Cardenal, who is one of the most well known proponents of Liberation Theology and was a supporter of the Sandinistas in the 1980s. The best known female author is Gioconda Belli who was likewise a Sandinista activist in the 1980s but is more critical of Ortega today. However, despite all those literary advances, it is surprisingly hard to get books in the more rural towns of Nicaragua and despite the very successful alphabetization campaigns of the 1980s, Nicaragua still has rampant analphabetism, which can be seen by the - let's just say creative - orthography on handmade signage (e.g. "se bende yelo" instead of "se vende hielo")

As it was mentioned, the country is Spanish-speaking. Curiously, it also has a considerable English-speaking community, due to the British claimed the Mosquito Coast (east) from the Spanish colony as a protectorate during almost 200 years (it was given back to the now-independent republic in 1860, but it had an autonomous government until 1894). The Spanish spoken uses the ''voseo'' variety, that is "tu" (similar to "thou" in YeOldeButcheredEnglish) is usually replaced by "vos". Vosotros (similar to "ihr" in German) on the other hand is never used. A particular feature of Nicaraguan Spanish is the propensity of many speakers to "swallow the s", meaning that "s" may either be pronounced like Spanish "j" or not at all.

Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America. It’s sometimes called “the land of lakes and volcanoes”, which should tell you enough about its geography. It’s a Spanish-speaking country, but it still keeps a notable indigenous as well as Afro-Caribbean culture (particularly in the sparsely populated Eastern half of the country) and is ethnically mixed. Nicaragua became independent from UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} in 1821, together with four other Central American countries and those five (Nicaragua, UsefulNotes/{{Honduras}}, UsefulNotes/ElSalvador, UsefulNotes/CostaRica and UsefulNotes/{{Guatemala}}) formed a short lived "United Provinces of Central America" before breaking apart in the 1830s.

** Vice President: Rosario Murillo (wife of Ortega)

* '''Area:''' 130,375 km
(50,338 sq mi) (96th)

* ''Film/{{Walker}}'' - AnachronismStew about William Walker, one of those Southerners that, during the years preceding the American Civil War, tried to expand the slaving territory to the countries below (he actually came to be President of Nicaragua for a short while, go figure). Every Nicaraguan today knows his name, but few Americans have heard of him.

* ''Walker'' - AnachronismStew about William Walker, one of those Southerners that, during the years preeceding the American Civil War, tried to expand the slaving territory to the countries below (he actually came to be President of Nicaragua for a short while, go figure). Every Nicaraguan today knows his name, but few Americans have heard of him.

The country is more infamous for being one of the prime examples of American intervention on neighboring soil. Besides the interest on a inter-oceanic waterway canal, later aborted (see below), the U.S. invaded and controlled the country during most of The20thCentury, putting {{meat puppet}}s loyal to the United States as presidents. The most famous of these would be the Somoza dynasty, composed by Anastasio Somoza García and his sons, Luis Somoza Debayle and Anastasio Somoza Debayle, which combined would stay 43 years in power. Their combined influence went beyond that, because when none of them were the Presidents of Nicaragua, it was one of their lackeys who served.

After sixteen years of economic turmoil and political scandal, the Sandinistas were elected again despite strong US criticism ([[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror including an attempt to link them to Middle Eastern terrorism]]), though most of the party's Marxist flavor had been steamed out in favor of social democracy with a hint of conservative Christian morality. The current President is Daniel Ortega, the Sandinista leader and former President of ThEighties. Well, at least he was elected democratically... just like [[UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}} Hugo Chávez]]. In fact, Chávez and Ortega were [=BFF=]s, along with another 'democratically elected' anti-US crusader, [[UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]]. Make of that what you will.

After sixteen years of economic turmoil and political scandal, the Sandinistas were elected again despite strong US criticism ([[UsefulNotes/TheWarOnTerror including an attempt to link them to Middle Eastern terrorism]]), though most of the party's Marxist flavor had been steamed out in favor of social democracy with a hint of conservative Christian morality. The current President is Daniel Ortega, the Sandinista leader and former President of the 1980s. Well, at least he was elected democratically... just like [[UsefulNotes/{{Venezuela}} Hugo Chávez]]. In fact, Chávez and Ortega were [=BFF=]s, along with another 'democratically elected' anti-US crusader, [[UsefulNotes/{{Iran}} Mahmoud Ahmadinejad]]. Make of that what you will.

Though hesitant, the Sandinistas promised that national elections would come, and after some waffling, they delivered in 1984. They won, but that wasn't surprising as several opposition groups boycotted the elections due to the 'state of emergency' stipulations. International observers declared the elections fair, but Ronald Reagan disagreed and [[YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters kept sending the Contras money despite a Congressional ban and an International Court of Justice ruling]], leading to the infamous Iran-Contra affair. When the time came for the 1990 elections, the war-weary civilians decided to collectively vote the Sandinistas out of office just to placate the United States. They elected Violeta Barrios de Chamorro,[[note]]widow of popular ''La Prensa'' editor in chief who was murdered in 1978 by still unknown perpetrators and who had been a prominent critic of Somoza; La Prensa and Violeta would be among the fiercest critics of the Sandinistas in the 1980s despite having been invited into the provisional government junta in 1979[[/note]] the first female president democratically elected in the Americas, though her government was [[ObstructiveBureaucrat still staffed by Sandinista bureaucrats, hampering her ability to govern effectively]]. Barrios de Chamorro stepped down in 1996 after her single term ran out (the constitution disallows reelection) and was succeeded by former Managua mayor Arnoldo Aleman, who more or less openly courted the "not everything was bad under Somoza" vote. Aleman proved to be incredibly corrupt, so when he was replaced by his erstwhile Vice President Enrique Bolaños Geyer (yes he is of partial German descent) parts of his party - including the President - would turn against Aleman and try to get him jailed for corruption. This however split the party and Ortega made "El Pacto" with Aleman to exchange some political favors, paving the way for Ortega's return to power. Ortega had never, since 1990 come close to winning 50% of the vote, but with the (center-) right splitting the vote and the second round eliminated thanks to "El Pacto", Ortega won with just 38% of the vote and ''less'' in absolute votes than he had obtained in 2001.

Though the country was developing during the Somozas’ regime, their dictatorial ways, along with the lack of help of the government for an earthquake that hit the capital in 1972, hastened the downfall of the government to leftist guerrillas known as Sandinistas. They named themselves in honor of the aforementioned Augusto Cesar Sandino. The Sandinistas, under the leadership of Daniel Ortega, established control and imposed Marxist land reforms. This didn’t suit former elements of Somoza's National Guard and other anti-Sandinista groups, who formed a coalition of counter-revolutionary militias called the ''Contras'' (shorthand for ''contrarrevolucionarios''). Money and weapons from UsefulNotes/{{Cuba}}, the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]] and the United States flowed into the country, and in the ensuing ProxyWar, Nicaragua turned from being one of the fastest developing countries in Central America to be one of the slowest. The issue of war crimes and human rights abuses carried out by the opposing sides or rogue elements thereof [[FromACertainPointOfView was heavily politicized by the international community]]. Make no mistake as to the composition of either side: There were impoverished peasants that hated the Sandinistas and relatively well to do urbanites that gave their life for them and the same applied for the Contras. Brother fighting against brother (or sister against sister) was as common in this civil war as it was in the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar. Today, three decades later, the rifts have mostly healed but new rifts have appeared, with some former Contras now supporting President Ortega and some former Sandinistas now among Ortega's fiercest critics.

Though the country was developing during the Somozas’ regime, their dictatorial ways, along with the lack of help of the government for an earthquake that hit the capital in 1972, hastened the downfall of the government to leftist guerrillas known as Sandinistas. They named themselves in honor of the aforementioned Augusto Cesar Sandino. The Sandinistas, under the leadership of Daniel Ortega, established control and imposed Marxist land reforms. This didn’t suit former elements of Somoza's National Guard and other anti-Sandinista groups, who formed a coalition of counter-revolutionary militias called the ''Contras'' (shorthand for ''contrarrevolucionarios''). Money and weapons from UsefulNotes/{{Cuba}}, the Soviet Union and the United States flowed into the country, and in the ensuing proxy war, Nicaragua turned from being one of the fastest developing countries in Central America to be one of the slowest. The issue of war crimes and human rights abuses carried out by the opposing sides or rogue elements thereof [[FromACertainPointOfView was heavily politicized by the international community]]. Make no mistake as to the composition of either side: There were impoverished peasants that hated the Sandinistas and relatively well to do urbanites that gave their life for them and the same applied for the Contras. Brother fighting against brother (or sister against sister) was as common in this civil war as it was in the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar. Today, three decades later, the rifts have mostly healed but new rifts have appeared, with some former Contras now supporting President Ortega and some former Sandinistas now among Ortega's fiercest critics.

Though the country was developing during the Somozas’ regime, their dictatorial ways, along with the lack of help of the government for an earthquake that hit the capital in 1972 hastened the downfall of the government to leftist guerrillas known as Sandinistas, who named themselves in honor of the aforementioned Augusto Cesar Sandino. The Sandinistas, under the leadership of Daniel Ortega, established control and imposed Marxist land reforms. This didn’t suit former elements of Somoza's National Guard and other anti-Sandinista groups, who formed a coalition of counter-revolutionary militias called the ''Contras'' (shorthand for ''contrarrevolucionarios''). Money and weapons from Cuba, the Soviet Union and the United States flowed into the country, and in the ensuing proxy war, Nicaragua turned from being one of the fastest developing countries in Central America to be one of the slowest. The issue of war crimes and human rights abuses carried out by the opposing sides or rogue elements thereof [[FromACertainPointOfView was heavily politicized by the international community]]. Make no mistake as to the composition of either side: There were impoverished peasants that hated the Sandinistas and relatively well to do urbanites that gave their life for them and the same applied for the Contras. Brother fighting against brother (or sister against sister) was as common in this civil war as it was in the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar. Today, three decades later, the rifts have mostly healed but new rifts have appeared, with some former Contras now supporting President Ortega and some former Sandinistas now among Ortega's fiercest critics.

The country is more infamous for being one of the prime examples of American intervention on neighboring soil. Besides the interest on a inter-oceanic waterway canal, later aborted (see below), the U.S. invaded and controlled the country during most of The20thCentury, putting {{meat puppet}}s loyal to the United States as presidents. The most famous of these would be the Somoza dynasty, composed by Anastasio Somoza García and his sons, Luis Somoza Debayle and Anastasio Somoza Debayle, which combined would stay 43 years in power, but their influence went beyond that, because when none of them were the Presidents of Nicaragua, it was one of their lackeys.

The country is more infamous for being one of the prime examples of American intervention on neighboring soil. Besides the interest on a inter-oceanic waterway canal, later aborted (see below), the U.S. invaded and controlled the country during most of the 20th century, putting {{meat puppet}}s loyal to the United States as presidents. The most famous of these would be the Somoza dynasty, composed by Anastasio Somoza García and his sons, Luis Somoza Debayle and Anastasio Somoza Debayle, which combined would stay 43 years in power, but their influence went beyond that, because when none of them were the Presidents of Nicaragua, it was one of their lackeys.

After that the Liberals would be out of power for three decades until a liberal general - José Santos Zelaya - orchestrated a coup against the conservatives in 1893. That general in turn was ousted in 1909 and the resulting chaos provided the justification for the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates to launch an almost constant military occupation of the country. The occupation met the resistance of some liberal generals, but ultimately the [[SemperFi US Marines]] were able to win most of the battles. As has been famously said, all liberal generals eventually handed over their weapons - all but one. That one is the next-to-mythical figure Augusto Cesar Sandino, a liberal general and famous wearer of a nice hat. He managed to conquer half the country and made the Marines withdraw but ultimately the US had left behind a trusted leader for the (US trained) National Guard - one certain Anastacio Somoza Garcia. In 1934, Somoza invited Sandino to a peace dinner in his honor. Sandino accepted and came to Managua, but on the way back from the dinner Sandino was assassinated on the orders of Somoza, who two years later would formally take the presidency.

After that the Liberals would be out of power for three decades until a liberal general - José Santos Zelaya - orchestrated a coup against the conservatives in 1893. That general in turn was ousted in 1909 and the resulting chaos provided the justification for the UsefulNotes/UnitedStates to launch an almost constant military occupation of the country. The occupation met the resistance of some liberal generals, but ultimately the US Marines were able to win most of the battles. As has been famously said, all liberal generals eventually handed over their weapons - all but one. That one is the next-to-mythical figure Augusto Cesar Sandino, a liberal general and famous wearer of a nice hat. He managed to conquer half the country and made the Marines withdraw but ultimately the US had left behind a trusted leader for the (US trained) National Guard - one certain Anastacio Somoza Garcia. In 1934, Somoza invited Sandino to a peace dinner in his honor. Sandino accepted and came to Managua, but on the way back from the dinner Sandino was assassinated on the orders of Somoza, who two years later would formally take the presidency.

After that the Liberals would be out of power for three decades until a liberal general - José Santos Zelaya - orchestrated a coup against the conservatives in 1893. That general in turn was ousted in 1909 and the resulting chaos provided the justification for the US to launch an almost constant military occupation of the country. The occupation met the resistance of some liberal generals, but ultimately the US Marines were able to win most of the battles. As has been famously said, all liberal generals eventually handed over their weapons - all but one. That one is the next-to-mythical figure Augusto Cesar Sandino, a liberal general and famous wearer of a nice hat. He managed to conquer half the country and made the Marines withdraw but ultimately the US had left behind a trusted leader for the (US trained) National Guard - one certain Anastacio Somoza Garcia. In 1934, Somoza invited Sandino to a peace dinner in his honor. Sandino accepted and came to Managua, but on the way back from the dinner Sandino was assassinated on the orders of Somoza, who two years later would formally take the presidency.

After becoming its own country, Nicaragua had civil wars between León (mostly liberal) and Granada (mostly conservative) about who'd get to dominate the country and - more importantly - where the capital would be located. In the end neither got the capital ([[TakeAThirdOption which was instead placed in Managua]]) but the Conservatives of Granada held the presidency for most of the 19th century. A particularly absurd story is that of William Walker, who was invited into the country by the Liberals who were once more on the losing side of a power struggle. Once in the country Walker and his fellow Americans declared him President and proceeded to invade the rest of Central America in order to unite it under his [[SarcasmMode benevolent heel]]. Walker even wanted to reimpose slavery and annex Nicaragua to the South. At the end, Walker was driven out and later found himself in front of a British firing squad in Honduras.

Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America. It’s sometimes called “the land of lakes and volcanoes”, which should tell you enough about its geography. It’s a Spanish-speaking country, but it still keeps a notable indigenous as well as Afro-Caribbean culture (particularly in the sparsely populated Eastern half of the country) and is ethnically mixed. Nicaragua became independent from UsefulNotes/{{Spain}} in 1821, together with four other Central American countries and those five (Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala) formed a short lived "United Provinces of Central America" before breaking apart in the 1830s.

Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America. It’s sometimes called “the land of lakes and volcanoes”, which should tell you enough about its geography. It’s a Spanish-speaking country, but it still keeps a notable indigenous as well as Afro-Caribbean culture (particularly in the sparsely populated Eastern half of the country) and is ethnically mixed. Nicaragua became independent from Spain in 1821, together with four other Central American countries and those five (Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala) formed a short lived "United Provinces of Central America" before breaking apart in the 1830s.

* ''Walker'' - AnachronismStew about William Walker, one of those Southerners that, during the years of the Confederation, tried to expand the slaving territory to the countries below (he actually came to be President of Nicaragua for a short while, go figure). Every Nicaraguan today knows his name, but few Americans have heard of him.

After that the Liberals would be out of power for three decades until a liberal general - José Santos Zelaya - orchestrated a coup against the conservatives in 1893. That general in turn was ousted in 1909 and the resulting chaos provided the justification for the US to launch an almost constant military occupation of the country. The occupation met the resistance of some liberal generals, but ultimately the US Marines were able to win most of the battles. As has been famously said, all liberal generals eventually handed over their weapons - all but one. That one is the next to mythical figure Augusto Cesar Sandino (yes, the Sandinistas are named after him) a liberal general and famous wearer of a nice hat. He managed to conquer half the country and made the Marines withdraw but ultimately the US had left behind a trusted leader for the (US trained) National Guard - one certain Anastacio Somoza Garcia. In 1934, Somoza invited Sandino to a peace dinner in his honor. Sandino accepted and came to Managua, but on the way back from the dinner Sandino was assassinated on the orders of Somoza, who two years later would formally take the presidency.

Though the country was developing during the Somozas’ regime, their dictatorial ways, along with the lack of help of the government for an earthquake that hit the capital in 1972 hastened the downfall of the government to leftist guerrillas known as Sandinistas, named after Augusto Sandino, a resistance leader against the first American intervention. The Sandinistas, under the leadership of Daniel Ortega, established control and imposed Marxist land reforms. This didn’t suit former elements of Somoza's National Guard and other anti-Sandinista groups, who formed a coalition of counter-revolutionary militias called the ''Contras'' (shorthand for ''contrarrevolucionarios''). Money and weapons from Cuba, the Soviet Union and the United States flowed into the country, and in the ensuing proxy war, Nicaragua turned from being one of the fastest developing countries in Central America to be one of the slowest. The issue of war crimes and human rights abuses carried out by the opposing sides or rogue elements thereof [[FromACertainPointOfView was heavily politicized by the international community]]. Make no mistake as to the composition of either side: There were impoverished peasants that hated the Sandinistas and relatively well to do urbanites that gave their life for them and the same applied for the Contras. Brother fighting against brother (or sister against sister) was as common in this civil war as it was in the UsefulNotes/AmericanCivilWar. Today, three decades later, the rifts have mostly healed but new rifts have appeared, with some former Contras now supporting President Ortega and some former Sandinistas now among Ortega's fiercest critics.

* ''Music/{{Sandinista}}'' by Music/TheClash was inspired by the 1979 takeover by the leftwing Sandinista rebels of the rightwing dictatorship of the Somozas.

* The opening mission of ''VideoGame/GhostRecon: Future Soldier'' takes place in Nicaragua.

After that the Liberals would be out of power for three decades until a liberal general - José Santos Zelaya - orchestrated a coup against the conservatives in 1893. That general in turn was ousted in 1909 and the resulting chaos provided the justification for the US to launch an almost constant military occupation of the country. The occupation met the resistance of some liberal generals, but ultimately the US Marines were able to win most of the battles. As has been famously said, all liberal generals eventually handed over their weapons - all but one. That one is the next to mythical figure Augusto Cesar Sandino (yes, the Sandinistas are named after him) a liberal general and famous wearer of a NiceHat. He managed to conquer half the country and made the Marines withdraw but ultimately the US had left behind a trusted leader for the (US trained) National Guard - one certain Anastacio Somoza Garcia. In 1934, Somoza invited Sandino to a peace dinner in his honor. Sandino accepted and came to Managua, but on the way back from the dinner Sandino was assassinated on the orders of Somoza, who two years later would formally take the presidency.