Anastasio Somoza García
Encyclopedia
Anastasio Somoza García (1 February 1896 – 29 September 1956) was officially the President
of Nicaragua
from 1 January 1937 to 1 May 1947 and from 21 May 1950 to 29 September 1956, but ruled effectively as dictator
from 1936 until his assassination
.
, Carazo Department in Nicaragua
, the son of Anastasio Somoza Reyes, a wealthy coffee
planter, and wife Julia García, paternal grandson of Anastasio Somoza Martínez and wife Isabel Reyes ... and brother of Julio Somoza García, and as a teenager, was sent to live with relatives in Philadelphia, where he attended the Peirce School of Business Administration. While living in Philadelphia, he met his future wife, Salvadora Debayle Sacasa, a member of one of Nicaragua's wealthiest families, daughter of Dr. Luis Henri Debayle Pallais and wife Casimira Sacasa Sacasa, daughter of Roberto Sacasa Sarria, 44th and 46th President of Nicaragua, and wife and cousin Ángela Sacasa Cuadra. After returning to Nicaragua, he was unsuccessful as a businessman.
, his wife's uncle. Although Somoza failed to distinguish himself in battle, leading an unsuccessful attack on the garrison at San Marcos, his unaccented English allowed him to act as an interpreter during the U.S.-brokered negotiations between the warring parties.
In the government of President José María Moncada
, to whom he was distantly related, he served as governor of the department of León, Nicaraguan Consul to Costa Rica
and Foreign Minister. Despite his limited military experience, Somoza was able to rise through the ranks of the Nicaraguan National Guard , the constabulary force organized by the United States Marines.
as President. At the urging of the U.S. Ambassador Matthew E. Hanna, Somoza García was appointed as director of the National Guard.
During peace talks, Somoza ordered the assassination of General Sandino on February 21, 1934 in violation of a safe-conduct agreement. Sandino's assassination was followed by the murder of former Sandino supporters by the National Guard. In June 1936, Somoza forced Sacasa
to resign.
1937. Somoza, popularly known as "Tacho," amended the Constitution to centralize all power in his hands. Family members and key supporters monopolized key positions in the government and military.
While opposition parties continued to exist on paper, in practice, the system was heavily rigged in favor of Somoza's Nationalist Liberal Party
. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, he acquired immense personal wealth, primarily through investments in agricultural exports, particularly coffee
, cotton
and cattle
. Following the massacre of Sandino's followers, he acquired most of the land which had been granted to them by Sacasa
.
, the government confiscated the properties of Nicaragua's small, but economically influential German community and sold them to Somoza and his family at ridiculously low prices. By 1944, Somoza was the largest landowner in Nicaragua, owning fifty-one cattle ranches and forty-six coffee plantations, as well as several sugar mills and rum distilleries. Somoza named himself director of the Pacific Railroad, linking Managua
to the nation's principal port, Corinto, which moved his merchandise and crops for free and maintained his vehicles and agricultural equipment.
He also made substantial profits by granting concessions to foreign (primarily U.S.) companies to exploit gold, rubber and timber, for which he received 'executive levies' and 'presidential commissions.' He passed laws restricting imports and organized contraband operations, which sold merchandise through his own stores. He also extracted bribes from illegal gambling, prostitution and alcohol distilling. By the end of the decade, he had acquired a fortune estimated to be US$400 million.
Though Nicaragua was on the Lend Lease in World War II, the unwillingness of Nicaragua to actually fight meant it was given obsolete equipment (most of it being either purchased from Russia
, Spain
and Portugal
or captured German
equipment) and no Western training.
, as President.
, as President. In another heavily rigged election, Somoza García again became President in 1950. In the 1950s, he reorganized and streamlined his business empire, founding a merchant marine company, several textile mills, a national airline (LANICA, short for Líneas Aéreas de Nicaragua) and a new container port on the Pacific near Managua, which he named Puerto Somoza (after the Sandinistas came to power they renamed it Puerto Sandino
). He also acquired properties in the United States
and Canada
.
In 1955, the constitution was amended to allow him to run for another term. Shortly after being nominated, he was shot on 21 September 1956 by the poet
Rigoberto López Pérez
in the city of León
, and died several days later after being sent to a Panama Canal Zone
hospital. His older son, Luis Somoza
, succeeded him.
Somoza's sons, Luis Somoza
and Anastasio Somoza Debayle
, ruled the country directly or through figurehead politicians for the next 23 years. Despite widespread corruption and repression of dissent, they were able to hold onto power because the United States viewed them as anti-communist
stalwarts and a source of stability. His daughter Lillian Somoza Debayle, born in León, Nicaragua, on 3 May 1921, married Guillermo Sevilla Sacasa
, Nicaraguan Ambassador
to the United States during his brother in law's rule. He also had a son, by an unknown mother, named José R. Somoza.
He is entombed at Cementerio Occidental with his oldest son in the National Guard Mausoleum in Managua, Nicaragua.
continued to support them as a non-communist stronghold in Nicaragua. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
(FDR) supposedly remarked in 1939 that "Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch." According to historian David Schmitz, however, researchers and archivists who have searched the archives of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library have found no evidence that Roosevelt ever made this statement. The statement first appeared in the November 15, 1948 issue of Time magazine and was later mentioned in a March 17, 1960 broadcast of CBS Reports called "Trujillo: Portrait of a Dictator". In this broadcast, however, it was asserted that FDR made the statement in reference to Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic
. It should be further noted that this statement has been attributed to a variety of United States presidential administrations in regard to foreign dictators. Thus the statement remains apocryphal at this point, though Roosevelt and future presidents certainly supported the Somoza family and their rule over Nicaragua. Andrew Crawley claims that the Roosevelt statement is a myth created by Somoza himself.
President of Nicaragua
The position of President of Nicaragua was created in the Constitution of 1854. From 1825 until the Constitution of 1838 the title of the position was known as Head of State and from 1838 to 1854 as Supreme Director .-Heads of State of Nicaragua within the Federal Republic of Central America...
of Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
from 1 January 1937 to 1 May 1947 and from 21 May 1950 to 29 September 1956, but ruled effectively as dictator
Dictator
A dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power but without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
from 1936 until his assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
.
Biography
Somoza was born in San MarcosSan Marcos, Carazo
San Marcos is a municipality in the Carazo Department of Nicaragua. It is located at south from the capital, Managua, and has a population of around 30,600 inhabitants....
, Carazo Department in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, the son of Anastasio Somoza Reyes, a wealthy coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
planter, and wife Julia García, paternal grandson of Anastasio Somoza Martínez and wife Isabel Reyes ... and brother of Julio Somoza García, and as a teenager, was sent to live with relatives in Philadelphia, where he attended the Peirce School of Business Administration. While living in Philadelphia, he met his future wife, Salvadora Debayle Sacasa, a member of one of Nicaragua's wealthiest families, daughter of Dr. Luis Henri Debayle Pallais and wife Casimira Sacasa Sacasa, daughter of Roberto Sacasa Sarria, 44th and 46th President of Nicaragua, and wife and cousin Ángela Sacasa Cuadra. After returning to Nicaragua, he was unsuccessful as a businessman.
Early political career
In 1926, he joined the Liberal rebellion in support of the presidential claims of Juan Bautista SacasaJuan Bautista Sacasa
Juan Bautista Sacasa Sacasa was the President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1933 to 9 June 1936. He was the eldest son of Roberto Sacasa, 44th and 46th President of Nicaragua, and wife and cousin Ángela Sacasa Cuadra...
, his wife's uncle. Although Somoza failed to distinguish himself in battle, leading an unsuccessful attack on the garrison at San Marcos, his unaccented English allowed him to act as an interpreter during the U.S.-brokered negotiations between the warring parties.
In the government of President José María Moncada
José María Moncada Tapia
José María Moncada Tapia was the President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1929 to 1 January 1933.- Political career :...
, to whom he was distantly related, he served as governor of the department of León, Nicaraguan Consul to Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and Foreign Minister. Despite his limited military experience, Somoza was able to rise through the ranks of the Nicaraguan National Guard , the constabulary force organized by the United States Marines.
Somoza and Sandino
After waging a bitter, six-year struggle with the forces of General Augusto Sandino, in January 1933, the Marines evacuated the country, following the election of Juan Bautista SacasaJuan Bautista Sacasa
Juan Bautista Sacasa Sacasa was the President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1933 to 9 June 1936. He was the eldest son of Roberto Sacasa, 44th and 46th President of Nicaragua, and wife and cousin Ángela Sacasa Cuadra...
as President. At the urging of the U.S. Ambassador Matthew E. Hanna, Somoza García was appointed as director of the National Guard.
During peace talks, Somoza ordered the assassination of General Sandino on February 21, 1934 in violation of a safe-conduct agreement. Sandino's assassination was followed by the murder of former Sandino supporters by the National Guard. In June 1936, Somoza forced Sacasa
Juan Bautista Sacasa
Juan Bautista Sacasa Sacasa was the President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1933 to 9 June 1936. He was the eldest son of Roberto Sacasa, 44th and 46th President of Nicaragua, and wife and cousin Ángela Sacasa Cuadra...
to resign.
Somoza's control of the Government
A series of puppets ruled for the remainder of the year, and, in December, Somoza was elected president by the margin of 107,201 votes to 100, taking office on New Year's DayNew Year's Day
New Year's Day is observed on January 1, the first day of the year on the modern Gregorian calendar as well as the Julian calendar used in ancient Rome...
1937. Somoza, popularly known as "Tacho," amended the Constitution to centralize all power in his hands. Family members and key supporters monopolized key positions in the government and military.
While opposition parties continued to exist on paper, in practice, the system was heavily rigged in favor of Somoza's Nationalist Liberal Party
Nationalist Liberal Party
The Nationalist Liberal Party is a centre-right political party in Nicaragua. It was established by Anastasio Somoza García in the 1930s. When it was formed, it drew its members mainly from factions within the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party....
. Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, he acquired immense personal wealth, primarily through investments in agricultural exports, particularly coffee
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
, cotton
Cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....
and cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
. Following the massacre of Sandino's followers, he acquired most of the land which had been granted to them by Sacasa
Juan Bautista Sacasa
Juan Bautista Sacasa Sacasa was the President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1933 to 9 June 1936. He was the eldest son of Roberto Sacasa, 44th and 46th President of Nicaragua, and wife and cousin Ángela Sacasa Cuadra...
.
Nicaragua and World War II
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the government confiscated the properties of Nicaragua's small, but economically influential German community and sold them to Somoza and his family at ridiculously low prices. By 1944, Somoza was the largest landowner in Nicaragua, owning fifty-one cattle ranches and forty-six coffee plantations, as well as several sugar mills and rum distilleries. Somoza named himself director of the Pacific Railroad, linking Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
to the nation's principal port, Corinto, which moved his merchandise and crops for free and maintained his vehicles and agricultural equipment.
He also made substantial profits by granting concessions to foreign (primarily U.S.) companies to exploit gold, rubber and timber, for which he received 'executive levies' and 'presidential commissions.' He passed laws restricting imports and organized contraband operations, which sold merchandise through his own stores. He also extracted bribes from illegal gambling, prostitution and alcohol distilling. By the end of the decade, he had acquired a fortune estimated to be US$400 million.
Though Nicaragua was on the Lend Lease in World War II, the unwillingness of Nicaragua to actually fight meant it was given obsolete equipment (most of it being either purchased from Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
or captured German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
equipment) and no Western training.
Overthrow of Argüello
In 1944, under pressure from the U.S., Somoza agreed not to run for re-election, and had the Nationalist Liberal Party nominate an elderly doctor named Leonardo Argüello, with Somoza using the National Guard to secure his election. Upon being sworn in as President in May 1947, Argüello displayed considerable independence, attempting to reduce the power of the National Guard and the control of Somoza and his associates over the economy. Less than a month later, Somoza orchestrated another coup, naming one of his wife's uncles, Benjamín LacayoBenjamín Lacayo Sacasa
Benjamín Lacayo Sacasa was the President of Nicaragua from 27 May to 15 August 1947.He was a relative of Silvestre Selva, 17th President of Nicaragua, Roberto Sacasa, 44th and 46th President, and his son Juan Bautista Sacasa, 63rd President, as well as a cousin of Roberto Martínez Lacayo, 74th and...
, as President.
Second Presidency
When the administration of U.S. President, Harry Truman, refused to recognize the new government, a Constituent Assembly was convened, which appointed Somoza's uncle, Víctor Manuel Román y ReyesVíctor Manuel Román y Reyes
Víctor Manuel Román y Reyes was the President of Nicaragua from 15 August 1947 to his death on 6 May 1950. His Vice-President was Mariano Argüello Vargas, a former Foreign Minister and President of the Senate....
, as President. In another heavily rigged election, Somoza García again became President in 1950. In the 1950s, he reorganized and streamlined his business empire, founding a merchant marine company, several textile mills, a national airline (LANICA, short for Líneas Aéreas de Nicaragua) and a new container port on the Pacific near Managua, which he named Puerto Somoza (after the Sandinistas came to power they renamed it Puerto Sandino
Puerto Sandino
Puerto Sandino is a coastal town in western Nicaragua. It is located at around .- U.S. Attacks :While supporting the Contras in the 1980s, U.S. forces attacked Puerto Sandino on September 13 and October 14, 1983. On March 28 and March 30, 1984 U.S. forces attacked patrol boats at Puerto Sandino....
). He also acquired properties in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Assassination and legacy
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
Rigoberto López Pérez
Rigoberto López Pérez
Rigoberto López Pérez was a Nicaraguan poet and music composer. He was the assassin of Anastasio Somoza García, the longtime dictator of Nicaragua....
in the city of León
León, Nicaragua
León is a department in northwestern Nicaragua . It is also the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. It was founded by the Spaniards as Santiago de los Caballeros de León and rivals Granada, Nicaragua, in the number of historic Spanish colonial homes and churches...
, and died several days later after being sent to a Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
hospital. His older son, Luis Somoza
Luis Somoza Debayle
Luis Anastasio Somoza Debayle was the President of Nicaragua from 29 September 1956 to 1 May 1963, but was effectively dictator of the country from 1956 until his death. He was born in León.Luis was educated at LSU...
, succeeded him.
Somoza's sons, Luis Somoza
Luis Somoza Debayle
Luis Anastasio Somoza Debayle was the President of Nicaragua from 29 September 1956 to 1 May 1963, but was effectively dictator of the country from 1956 until his death. He was born in León.Luis was educated at LSU...
and Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Anastasio Somoza Debayle was a Nicaraguan leader and officially the 73rd and 76th President of Nicaragua from 1 May 1967 to 1 May 1972 and from 1 December 1974 to 17 July 1979. As head of the National Guard, he was de facto ruler of the country from 1967 to 1979...
, ruled the country directly or through figurehead politicians for the next 23 years. Despite widespread corruption and repression of dissent, they were able to hold onto power because the United States viewed them as anti-communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
stalwarts and a source of stability. His daughter Lillian Somoza Debayle, born in León, Nicaragua, on 3 May 1921, married Guillermo Sevilla Sacasa
Guillermo Sevilla Sacasa
Guillermo Sevilla-Sacasa was the Nicaraguan ambassador to the United States from 1943 until 1979, when President Anastasio Somoza Debayle was ousted from Nicaragua...
, Nicaraguan Ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to the United States during his brother in law's rule. He also had a son, by an unknown mother, named José R. Somoza.
He is entombed at Cementerio Occidental with his oldest son in the National Guard Mausoleum in Managua, Nicaragua.
"Our son of a bitch"
Though the Somozas were generally regarded as ruthless dictators, the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
continued to support them as a non-communist stronghold in Nicaragua. President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
(FDR) supposedly remarked in 1939 that "Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he's our son of a bitch." According to historian David Schmitz, however, researchers and archivists who have searched the archives of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library have found no evidence that Roosevelt ever made this statement. The statement first appeared in the November 15, 1948 issue of Time magazine and was later mentioned in a March 17, 1960 broadcast of CBS Reports called "Trujillo: Portrait of a Dictator". In this broadcast, however, it was asserted that FDR made the statement in reference to Rafael Trujillo of the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. It should be further noted that this statement has been attributed to a variety of United States presidential administrations in regard to foreign dictators. Thus the statement remains apocryphal at this point, though Roosevelt and future presidents certainly supported the Somoza family and their rule over Nicaragua. Andrew Crawley claims that the Roosevelt statement is a myth created by Somoza himself.