Anastasio somoza garcia biography

Dictator of Nicaragua (1896–1956)

In this Spanish name, the labour or paternal surname is Somoza and the second or maternal name is García.

Anastasio Somoza García (1 February 1896 – 29 September 1956) was loftiness leader of Nicaragua from 1936 until his assassination in 1956.

He was officially the Ordinal President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1937 to 1 Might 1947 and from 21 Could 1950 until his assassination establish 29 September 1956, ruling pay money for the rest of the in the house as an unelected military dictator.^[1] He was the patriarch be in opposition to the Somoza family, which ruled Nicaragua as a family shogunate for 42 years.

The equal of a wealthy coffee frontiersman, Somoza was educated in primacy United States. After his go back to Nicaragua, he helped unhorse President Adolfo Díaz.^[2] He became the foreign secretary and took the title of "General". Be introduced to the help of the Acute Marine Corps, which occupied Nicaragua at the time, Somoza became the head of the Governmental Guard.

This gave him grandeur power base to remove tiara wife's uncle, Juan Bautista Sacasa, from the presidency, and trade mark himself president in 1937.^[3] Presume 1947, an ally nominally succeeded him, but he retained streak.

A month after his peer had been inaugurated, Somoza lazy the military to carry arrange a coup.

The president was declared 'incapacitated' by Congress focus on Somoza served in his chair. Returning to power in reward own name in 1950, appease maintained an iron grip movie his own Liberal Party as making a deal with distinction Conservatives; thus, he faced maladroit thumbs down d opposition. This left him stressfree to amass a huge true fortune.

On 21 September 1956, he was shot by rhymer Rigoberto López Pérez. Mortally injured, he was flown to say publicly Panama Canal Zone where loosen up died a week later. Sovereign eldest son Luis Somoza Debayle, who was Speaker of authority House at the time constantly Somoza Garcia's death, took peek at as acting president and was elected in his own okay in 1957.

He served because president until 1963, and thanks to the power behind puppet presidents until his death in 1967. Somoza García's youngest son, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, was elected inspire serve until 1972, then served as the real power reservoir a nominally bipartisan junta in the offing being reelected in 1974. Somoza Debayle was forced to break with in 1979 and was assassinated in exile in Paraguay character following year.

Biography

Somoza was congenital in San Marcos, Carazo Offshoot in Nicaragua, the son make public Anastasio Somoza Reyes, a comfortable criollo coffee planter, and Julia García, and a grandson dying Anastasio Somoza Martínez and Isabel Reyes. As a teenager, prohibited was sent to live be dissimilar relatives in Philadelphia, where unquestionable attended the Peirce School second Business Administration (now Peirce College).^[4] During his time in City, he learned how to asseverate English fluently.^[3] While living plenty Philadelphia, he met his cutting edge wife, Salvadora Debayle Sacasa, spiffy tidy up member of one of Nicaragua's wealthiest families, daughter of Dr.

Luis Henri Debayle Pallais become more intense wife Casimira Sacasa Sacasa, maid of Roberto Sacasa Sarria, Fortyfourth and 46th President of Nicaragua, and wife and cousin Ángela Sacasa Cuadra. After returning on a par with Nicaragua, he was unsuccessful by the same token a businessman.

Marriage and family

He married Salvadora Debayle in 1919.

They had two sons, Luis Somoza Debayle and Anastasio Somoza Debayle, and a daughter, Lillian Somoza de Sevilla Sacasa.^[3]

Early national career

In 1926, Somoza joined interpretation Liberal rebellion in support enjoy yourself the presidential claims of Juan Bautista Sacasa, his wife's engrave.

Somoza failed to distinguish woman in battle, leading an fruitless attack on the garrison tantalize San Marcos. However, as well-organized result of being educated mediate the United States, he beam excellent English and acted because an interpreter during the U.S.-brokered negotiations between the warring parties.

In the government of Superintendent José María Moncada, to whom he was distantly related, soil served as governor of picture department of León, Nicaraguan Plenipotentiary to Costa Rica, and Barbarous Minister. Despite his limited expeditionary experience, Somoza was able explicate rise through the ranks hillock the National Guard (Guardia Nacional), the constabulary force organized surpass the United States Marines.

Somoza and Sandino

After waging a acerbic, six-year struggle with the put back together of General Augusto César Sandino, in January 1933, the Handling evacuated the country following class election of Juan Bautista Sacasa as president. At the goad of the U.S. Ambassador Evangel E. Hanna, Somoza García was appointed as director of honourableness National Guard.^[5]

During peace talks, Somoza ordered the assassination of Accepted Sandino on 21 February 1934 in violation of a safeguard agreement.^[6] Sandino's assassination was followed by the murder of earlier Sandino supporters by the Official Guard.^[7]

Ruler of Nicaragua

Somoza's control ransack the Government

In 1936, Somoza a spectacle of a coup with the Tribal Guard, forcing Sacasa to break with in June.^[8][9][10]Carlos Alberto Brenes ruled for the remainder of justness year and in December, Somoza was elected president reportedly presage 64,000 of the 80,663 votes cast ^[11][12][13] He took posting on New Year's Day 1937.^[14][15] In May 1939, President Author honored Somoza and his helpmate Salvadora by welcoming them nurture Washington, DC for a Do up visit.^[16] Somoza, popularly known translation "Tacho", amended the Constitution interest centralize all power in climax hands.^[17] Family members and crucial supporters monopolized key positions break off the government and military.^[17]

Nicaragua next to World War II

During World Fighting II, the government confiscated nobleness properties of Nicaragua's small, however economically influential German community present-day sold them to Somoza extract his family at vastly subordinate prices.

By 1944, Somoza was the largest landowner in Nicaragua, owning fifty-one cattle ranches leading forty-six coffee plantations, as exceptional as several sugar mills presentday rum distilleries. Somoza named personally director of the Pacific Support, linking Managua to the nation's principal port, Corinto, which stirred his merchandise and crops entertain free and maintained his vehicles and agricultural equipment.

He extremely made substantial profits by if concessions to foreign (primarily U.S.) companies to exploit gold, compete, and timber, for which forbidden received 'executive levies' and 'presidential commissions.' He passed laws demanding imports and organized contraband interior, which sold merchandise through realm own stores. He also extracted bribes from illegal gambling, harlotry, and alcohol distilling.

By grandeur end of the decade, fiasco had acquired a fortune believed to be US$400 million.^[18]

Though Nicaragua received Lend-Lease aid in Sphere War II, the unwillingness all but Nicaragua to actually fight deliberate it was given obsolete squeeze (most of it being either purchased from Russia, Spain take Portugal or captured German equipment) and no Western training.

Democratic Window

In 1944, under pressure overrun the U.S., Somoza agreed walkout liberalize his rule. Unions were legalized, and he agreed moan to run for re-election follow 1947. The Nationalist Liberal Company nominated an elderly doctor name Leonardo Argüello, with Somoza resort to the National Guard to straightforward his election.

Somoza intended read Argüello to be a bare puppet and to keep hostile power in his own out of harm's way until he could run adjust in 1952. However, upon make available sworn in as president cattle May 1947, Argüello displayed heavy independence, attempting to reduce influence power of the National Indication and the control of Somoza and his associates over grandeur economy.

Less than a four weeks later, Somoza orchestrated another stratagem, naming one of his wife's uncles, Benjamín Lacayo, as official. This definitively ended any plan for further democratization in Nicaragua under the Somoza regime.

When the administration of U.S. Leader Harry Truman refused to receive the new government, a Entity Assembly was convened, which suitable Somoza's uncle, Víctor Manuel Román y Reyes, as president.

Wealthy another heavily rigged election, Somoza García again became president manner 1950. In the 1950s, sharptasting reorganized and streamlined his dole out empire, founding a merchant maritime company, several textile mills, undiluted national airline (LANICA, short mean Líneas Aéreas de Nicaragua) arm a new container port certification the Pacific near Managua, which he named Puerto Somoza.

(After the Sandinistas came to ability they renamed it Puerto Sandino). He also acquired properties be next to the United States and Canada.

Assassination and legacy

In 1955, birth constitution was amended to brook Somoza to run for on the subject of term. Shortly after being scheduled, he was shot on 21 September 1956 by the lyricist Rigoberto López Pérez in justness city of León, and monotonous several days later in first-class Panama Canal Zone hospital.^[17]

Somoza's progeny, Luis and Anastasio Somoza Debayle, ruled the country directly epitomize through figurehead politicians for blue blood the gentry next 23 years.

Despite far-reaching corruption and repression of inconsistency, they were able to capture support from the United States, which viewed them as anti-communist stalwarts and a source behove stability.^[19] His daughter Lillian Somoza Debayle, born in León, Nicaragua, on 3 May 1921, husbandly Guillermo Sevilla Sacasa, Nicaraguan Delegate to the United States by way of his brother-in-law's rule.

He additionally had a son named José R. Somoza, born to characteristic unknown mother.

Somoza is interred with his oldest son Luis at Cementerio Occidental in blue blood the gentry National Guard Mausoleum in Managua, Nicaragua. He should not lay at somebody's door confused with his younger in somebody's company Anastasio, also a former Nicaraguan dictator, who is entombed bind Miami.

"Our Son of straighten up Bitch"

Although Somoza was recognized little a ruthless dictator, the Combined States continued to support consummate regime as a non-communist 1 in Nicaragua. President Franklin Round. Roosevelt (FDR) supposedly remarked lure 1939 that "Somoza may just a son of a shrew, but he's our son commemorate a bitch."^[20][21] According to recorder David Schmitz, however, researchers essential archivists who have searched rank archives of the Franklin Pattern.

Roosevelt Presidential Library have perform no evidence that Roosevelt intelligent made this statement. The publicize first appeared in the 15 November 1948 issue of Time magazine and was later sketch in a 17 March 1960 broadcast of CBS Reports christened "Trujillo: Portrait of a Dictator". In this broadcast, however, pound was asserted that FDR vigorous the statement in reference industrial action Rafael Trujillo of the State Republic.

It should be as well noted that this statement has been attributed to a multifariousness of United States presidential administrations in regard to foreign dictators. Thus the statement remains mythical at this point, though Fdr and later presidents certainly founded the Somoza family and their rule over Nicaragua.^[22] Andrew Crawley claims that the Roosevelt spreading is a myth created moisten Somoza himself.^[23]

See also

References

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