Nicaraguan Revolution

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Nicaraguan Revolution
Part of the Central American crisis and the Cold War
From left to right: FSLN guerrillas entering León, bodies of people executed by the Nicaraguan National Guard, FSLN soldier aiming an RPG-2, a government spy captured by guerrilla forces, bombings by the National Guard air force & destruction of towns & villages taken by guerrilla forces.
Date 19 July 1961 – 25 April 1990 (28 years, 9 months and 6 days) 19 July 1961 – 17 July 1979 (first phase: FSLN Rebellion) 17 July 1979 – 25 April 1990 (second phase: Contra War) Location Nicaragua Result FSLN military victory in 1979 Overthrow of Somoza government in 1979 Insurgency of the Contras FSLN junta led by Daniel Ortega take power of Nicaragua in 1981[26] Electoral victory of FSLN in 1984 Electoral victory of the National Opposition Union in 1990
Belligerents
Somoza regime (1961–1979) National Guard Contras (1979–1990) FDN UDN Fifteenth of September Legion ARDE MILPAS (after 1979) KISAN/YATAMA RN Supported by:  United States  Costa Rica (1982–1986)[1]  Israel[2]  Saudi Arabia[3][4][5]  Taiwan[6]  Honduras[7]  Panama (1981–1987)[8]  Chile (1973–1990)[9]  Argentina (1976–1983)[5]  Colombia Imperial State of Iran (until 1979) Islamic Republic of Iran (Indirectly, since 1979)[10]  Brunei[11]  People's Republic of China[12][13]  Poland[12]  Romania[13]  Portugal[13]	FSLN EPS MAP-ML (1978–1979) MILPAS  Panama (1978–1979)[14][15] Supported by:  Soviet Union (1980–1990)  Costa Rica (1978–1982)[1]  Libya[16]  Cuba[17]  Bulgaria[18]  Czechoslovakia (until 1989)[19]  East Germany (until 1989)[18]  Hungary (until 1989)  Poland (until 1989)[12]  North Korea[19]  PLO[19]  Algeria[20]  Mexico[21]  France[22]  Sweden (medical support)[23][24]  Chile (1970–1973)  Venezuela (1978–1979)[15][14]  Canada (1984–1990)[25]
Commanders and leaders
Luis Somoza Anastasio Somoza Enrique Bermúdez Adolfo Calero Aristides Sánchez Alfonso Robelo (1982–1988) Edgar Chamorro (1979–1984) Edén Pastora (1982–1986) Fernando Chamorro (1981–1987)	Daniel Ortega Carlos Fonseca Amador † Humberto Ortega Joaquín Cuadra Tomás Borge Edén Pastora (until 1981) Hugo Spadafora
Casualties and losses
1978–79: 10,000 total killed[27] 1981–89: 10,000–43,000 total killed; best estimate using most detailed battle information is 30,000 killed.[27]

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The Nicaraguan Revolution (Spanish: Revolución Nicaragüense or Revolución Popular Sandinista) encompassed the rising opposition to the Somoza dictatorship in the 1960s and 1970s, the campaign led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) to oust the dictatorship in 1978–79, the subsequent efforts of the FSLN to govern Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990,^[28] and the Contra War, which was waged between the FSLN-led government of Nicaragua and the United States–backed Contras from 1981 to 1990. The revolution marked a significant period in the history of Nicaragua and revealed the country as one of the major proxy war battlegrounds of the Cold War, attracting much international attention.

The initial overthrow of the Somoza dictatorial regime in 1978–79 was a dirty affair, and the Contra War of the 1980s took the lives of tens of thousands of Nicaraguans and was the subject of fierce international debate. Because of the political turmoil, failing economy, and decreasing government influence, during the 1980s both the FSLN (a leftist collection of political parties) and the Contras (a rightist collection of counter-revolutionary groups) received large amounts of aid from the Cold War superpowers (respectively, the Soviet Union and the United States).

A peace process started with the Sapoá Accords in 1988 and the Contra War ended after the signing of the Tela Accord in 1989 and the demobilization of the FSLN and Contra armies.^[29] A second election in 1990 resulted in the election of a majority of anti-Sandinista parties and the FSLN handing over power.