Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Revolution & the FSLN
The last straw for the Nicaraguan public was the assassination of Chamorro. As street viol-
ence erupted and a general strike was called, business interests and moderate factions in the
Frente Amplio Opositor (Broad Opposition Front; FAO) unsuccessfully attempted to nego-
tiate an end to the Somoza dictatorship.
By mid-1978 many major towns were rising up against government forces. The Guardia
Nacional's violent reprisals garnered further support for the Sandinistas.
The FAO threw in its lot with the Sandinistas, whom they now perceived as the only vi-
able means with which to oust the dictatorship. This broad alliance formed a revolutionary
government provisionally based in San José, Costa Rica, which gained recognition and
arms from some Latin American and European governments.
Thus the FSLN was well prepared to launch its final offensive in June 1979. The revolu-
tionary forces took city after city, supported by thousands of civilians. On July 17, as the
Sandinistas were preparing to enter Managua, Somoza fled the country. He was assassin-
ated by Sandinista agents a year later in Asunción, Paraguay. The Sandinistas marched vic-
torious into Managua on July 19, 1979.
They inherited a shambles. Poverty, homelessness, illiteracy and inadequate health care
were just some of the problems. An estimated 50,000 people had been killed in the revolu-
tionary struggle, and perhaps 150,000 more left homeless.
The Death of Ben Linder by Joan Kruckewitt is a painstaking investigation (incorporating de-
classified CIA documents) into the assassination of Linder, the first US citizen to die at the
hands of the Contras.
Trying to salvage what it could of its influence over the country, the USA (under Presid-
ent Jimmy Carter) authorized US$75 million in emergency aid to the Sandinista-led gov-
ernment.
However, by late 1980 it was becoming concerned about the increasing numbers of
Soviet and Cuban advisers in Nicaragua and allegations that the Sandinistas were supplying
arms to leftist rebels in El Salvador.
 
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