History of US invasions of Nicaragua

[Tankanator]

Thanks to its geographical location, abundant fertile lands, fresh water and gold deposits, Nicaragua has repeatedly fallen victim to US aggression since the middle of the 19th century. Armed invasions, annexation attempts, creation of puppet oligarch-feudal governments and sponsorship of military dictatorships and armed coups followed one after another.



US business interests in Nicaragua in the 19th century

The history of US invasions of Nicaragua started in 1851 when American railway and shipping magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt arrived in the young republic, which was undergoing economic difficulties. Against the backdrop of the Californian gold fever in the US, he established the Accessory Transit Company together with the Nicaraguan authorities. The company became a monopolist in trans-oceanic shipments. Before long, the very profitable company stopped paying a percentage of the profits to the government and behaved like a “state within a state” with full support from the American government. Responding to a complaint by the Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry, the US Department of State explained that a nation with such a beneficial geographical location and a small force, was not entitled to use this wealth for its own benefit only and could not afford to neglect the duty of hospitality without a threat to itself as regards nationals of other countries that arrived on its territory for transit or trade. Shortly thereafter, the Nicaraguan authorities had to sign the Friendship Act, confirming the right of the US to bring troops to the republic’s territory if it saw a threat to its interests.

In 1855, Nicaraguan liberals from Leon asked one adventurer from New Orleans to take part in their struggle against the conservatives from Granada. His name was “Colonel” William Walker. He was a former lawyer and publisher who had become “famous” for his invasion of Mexico. Walker arrived in Nicaragua with only 56 mercenaries (so-called filibusters) but owing to cooperation with Vanderbilt, he managed to quickly seize the whole country and proclaimed himself president. During the war, Granada was burned down, slavery was introduced (with an eye towards Nicaragua’s accession to the US as an additional slave state), and English was declared the official language. Walker inspired many adventurers and mercenaries that were attracted to Nicaragua by the prospect of quick profits. The harassment they inflicted caused a popular guerrilla war. Walker was overthrown in 1860 and repeated US attempts to invade the country were repelled.

In 1893, liberal President Jose Santos Zelaya came to power in Nicaragua. He enacted a number of reforms that allowed the country to surpass some European states in growth and development. He returned the Caribbean coast to Nicaragua and brought down its pro-British King of Mosquitia. He soon opposed US interests as well, for example, the proposal to build a canal on Nicaraguan territory, a second trans-oceanic canal after Panama. In 1909, the US organised a coup to overthrow Zelaya and expel him from the country.

US Marines were permanently deployed in Nicaragua, and in the following 20 years its policy was fully determined by its “big brother from the north. The US was protecting the interests of the United Fruit Company that was gaining momentum at that time. In turn, the company was installing puppet governments in one Latin American country after another, turning them into banana republics.



National-liberation struggle led by Sandino

People launched a national-liberation struggle against the occupiers. The military leader of the revolt, General Benjamin Zeledon was awarded the title of National Hero of Nicaragua. In 1912, he was surrounded by his 700 men in a strategically important fortress, La Barranca, near Masaya. They defended it for over a month, repelling attacks by superior enemy forces – almost 2,000 US Marines and 4,000 local collaborationists from dictator Porfirio Diaz and national battalions of latifundist Chamorro until Zeledon was killed. His cause was continued by “the general of free people,” Cesar Augusto Sandino, the only rebel leader who refused to sign with the pro-American authorities the conciliatory pro-American Blackthorn Pact that promised amnesty, real estate and sinecures to the signatories.

With a poor working-class background, Sandino suddenly received a rich inheritance and used it for self-education, and creation and training of a small army that was loyal to him personally. Through its guerrilla activities, this army effectively contained and seriously damaged US troops for many years. Eventually, the interventionists had to go home, leaving instead the National Guard that was organised by US instructors. In 1934, after signing peace agreements ending the domestic armed conflict, the head of the National Guard Anastasio Somoza Garcia engineered Sandino’s assassination and seized power with the assistance of American emissaries.



Struggle against the Somoza family dictatorship

After the mock elections in 1937, Somoza declared himself president. This was the beginning of a long period in Nicaraguan history when the Somoza family became a dynasty of presidents replacing one another and exploiting the country with impunity. Anastasio Somoza signed an alliance with the US that directly supported his dictatorial regime. There is an often quoted quotation by Franklin Delano Roosevelt about him: “Somoza may be a son of a bitch, but he’s our son of a bitch.”

The corrupt Somoza family continued accumulating wealth during all this time. In December 1972, a major earthquake razed to the ground the capital of Managua. It turned out that a substantial portion of the international relief aid was transferred to the family’s depots and sold later. This revelation stepped up the anti-dictatorial activities of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (SNLF). This was established in 1962 by Carlos Fonseca, Tomas Borge and Silvio Mayorga. This was a left-wing armed underground organisation that was striving to put an end to the Somoza family dictatorship. After several years of armed clashes, the revolutionaries occupied the capital, Managua, on July 19, 1979 after heavy fighting. Somoza was overthrown and fled abroad.



The FSLN revolutionary government and fighting the Contras

After the pro-American dictatorship had been toppled, a five-member council was formed to run the country, with Sandinista commander Daniel Ortega appointed as its coordinator. Somoza’s constitution was cancelled, and efforts to rebuild the country began. A mass literacy campaign was carried out, and the land and property owned by the Somoza family and his circle were nationalised. The first steps were taken to improve healthcare, and an agrarian reform started. The Sandinista project provided for organising peasants into worker cooperatives rather than giving land out to peasants indiscriminately. This caused some friction and frustration among those who believed that the revolution would lead to the institution of land ownership.

On the other hand, many Nicaraguans who sympathised with Somoza emigrated to Miami, where, jointly with Cuban exiles, they formed a powerful group to influence US politics. A large part of the National Guard took refuge in Honduras and Costa Rica and, with the US support and funding, unleashed a war against the Sandinista government using every available means and form of warfare. In all, over 50,000 people died in Nicaragua then from direct and indirect US intervention. The economic damage caused by the civil war in Nicaragua was estimated at $17 billion.

After Daniel Ortega was elected president in 1984, the United States imposed a trade embargo on Nicaragua followed by the Iran-Contra scandal when it became clear that the CIA was selling arms to Iran (in violation of the UN blockade) and using the proceeds to support the Nicaraguan counter-revolutionary guerrillas aka Contras. Weapons for the Contras were paid for with cocaine. Also, weapons intended for other countries ended up with the Contras.

Washington never recognised this judgment, but on June 27, 1986, the UN International Court of Justice ruled as follows in Nicaragua vs. the United States of America case:

˗ Participating in the training, arming, equipping, financing, and supplying of the Contras forces, the United States acted against the Republic of Nicaragua in violation of its international obligation not to interfere in the affairs of another state;

˗ the United States, through a series of attacks on Nicaraguan territory between 1983 and 1984, including attacks on Puerto Sandino on September 13 and October 14, 1983, an attack on Corinto on October 10, 1983, an attack on the Potosí naval base on January 4 and 5, 1984, an attack on San Juan del Sur on March 7, 1984, the attacks on patrol boats in Puerto Sandino on March 28 and 30, 1984, and the attacks on San Juan del Norte on April 9, 1984, acted against the Republic of Nicaragua in violation of its international obligation not to use force against another state;

˗ By directing or authorising overflights over Nicaraguan territory and committing the above acts, the United States acted against the Republic of Nicaragua in violation of its obligation not to violate the sovereignty of another state;

˗ By laying mines in the internal or territorial waters of the Republic of Nicaragua in the early months of 1984, the United States acted against the Republic of Nicaragua in violation of its obligations not to use force against another state, interfere in its affairs, violate its sovereignty, or interrupt peaceful maritime commerce.

˗ By issuing a manual entitled Psychological Operations in Guerrilla Warfare in 1983 and distributing it to the Contras, the United States encouraged them to commit acts that run counter to general principles of humanitarian law.