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a wealthy polital Nicaraguan family that helped Nicaragua become a rich nation until they were overthrown by a communist group the FSLN that were backed up by Jimmy Carter and his administration and the Nicaragua became the second poorest country in the western hemisphere.
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∙ 12y ago
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What is the population of As Somozas?
As Somozas's population is 1,382.
What is the area of As Somozas?
The area of As Somozas is 70.91 square kilometers.
When was UD Somozas created?
UD Somozas was created in 1984.
Who overthrew the somozas in Nicaragua?
the communist FSLN
How did the cold war influence Nicaragua?
Nicaragua was seen as a battlefield in the Cold War. There's some history to consider: In 1912, the US invaded and occupied Nicaragua, and left in 1933 as part of FDR's "Good Neighbor Policy", where he vowed to stop messing with other countries in Central America (which had been happening a lot in the early 1900's). The Somoza family stepped in and took control in 1936, forming a family dynasty of corrupt, brutal dictators (FDR once referred to the first Somoza dictator as "our son of a bitch", because while he was a terrible dictator, he was also a non-communist and aligned with the US). In the 1960's, a group calling itself the Sandinistas (named after a Robin Hood-like folk hero named Sandino who fought against the US occupation) formed in opposition to the Somozas. In 1972, there was a huge earthquake but the Somoza government and military stole most of the money and supplies sent by other countries to assist. The Sandinistas grew more powerful and began attacking the government; the government responded with censorship, violence and torture, which caused powerful countries like the US to stop supporting it. By 1979, the last Somoza dictator was forced to flee (and he was assassinated a year later). The Sandinistas (who were leftist/socialist) tried to form a new government with right-leaning business leaders, but the attempt failed and the Sandinistas took control on their own. They instituted many socialist reforms and became very popular, but ex-Somoza supporters, soldiers who served in Somoza's military and other Nicaraguans who happened to oppose the Sandinista regime began forming guerrilla groups which became known as "Contras" ("Contra" means "Against" in Spanish) and a long, bloody civil war began. When Ronald Reagan became president of the US in 1981, one of the first things he did was began giving support to these Contras. He assumed that the Sandinistas, under their leader Daniel Ortega, were planning on turning their country into a Cuba-style Communist state (the Sandinistas did in fact have some ties to Castro), and Reagan did not want to let it happen. He ended all aid to the Ortega government and began giving weapons and CIA support to the Contras, who were based in Nicaragua's neighboring countries like Honduras. Like the Somozas, the Contras were brutal and committed numerous atrocities, but Reagan considered them "our guys" because they opposed Ortega. Then the US Congress passed a law called the Boland Amendment, which significantly cut funding for the Contras. However, Reagan's government found another way to continue supporting them. The Reagan administration began secretly selling weapons to Iran (even though Iran was considered an enemy to the US), and used the money to continue funding the Contras. Eventually this "Iran-Contra affair" was revealed to the public- several high ranking Reagan officials were fired and indicted, but President George H.W. Bush pardoned most of them so they never went to trial. Additionally, it was revealed that the CIA and Contras had participated in narcotics smuggling, including that the rapid rise of crack cocaine use in the US in the mid 1980's was linked to the groups. After the Iran-Contra Affair, the US government was only allowed to provide non-military assistance to the Contras, which it did. American money poured to political parties opposing Ortega and the Sandinistas, and the US government announced that if Ortega won the 1990 election, they would continue funding the Contras, thereby continuing the war. In the 1990 elections, a coalition of mostly right-leaning parties led by Violeta Chamorro won, ending Ortega's tenure. The Contras disbanded, the war ended, and Chamorro wisely kept in place some of Ortega's reforms while rolling back others, trying to strike a balance to keep the war from restarting. The US ended its embargo on Nicaragua and began sending aid to rebuild the wartorn country. Interestingly, Ortega would remain in politics, and became president of Nicaragua again in 2006. The US did not renew the support for the Contras at that time.
