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Sandinista Popular Army

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141-586: The Sandinista Popular Army ( SPA ) (or People's Army; Ejército Popular Sandinista , EPS) was the military forces established in 1979 by the new Sandinista government of Nicaragua to replace the Nicaraguan National Guard , following the overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle . In post-Sandinista Nicaragua, the SPA was reformed into the National Army of Nicaragua . Joaquín Cuadra

282-539: A Junta of National Reconstruction . Following the resignation of centrist members from this Junta, the FSLN took exclusive power in March 1981. They instituted literacy programs, nationalization, land reform, and devoted significant resources to healthcare, but came under international criticism for human rights abuses, including mass execution and oppression of indigenous peoples . They were also criticized for mismanaging

423-647: A counterrevolutionary uprising, and mobilize internal support for the FSLN. The strength of the EPS increased steadily during the Contra war in the 1980s. At the time the peace accords for the Contra War went into effect in 1990, the EPS's active duty members numbered more than 80,000. Supplemented by reservists and militia, the Nicaragua armed forces had an overall fighting strength of more than 125,000. The buildup of

564-417: A "popular army" under the leadership of the FSLN and Humberto Ortega. The FSLN's literacy campaign sent teachers into the countryside, and it has been claimed that within six months, half a million people had been taught rudimentary reading, bringing the national illiteracy rate down from over 50% to just under 12%. Over 100,000 Nicaraguans participated as literacy teachers. One of the literacy campaign's aims

705-470: A Council of State, subordinate to the junta, which was composed of representative bodies. But the Council of State gave political parties only 12 of 47 seats; the rest were given to Sandinista organizations. Of the 12 seats reserved for political parties, only three were not allied with the FSLN. Due to the rules governing the Council of State, in 1980 both non-FSLN junta members resigned. Nevertheless, as of

846-728: A common front against the dictatorship. The opposition to the dictatorship was established around various student organizations. Among its leaders, Carlos Fonseca Amador in the early 1960s. At the start of 1961 the New Nicaragua Movement (NNM) was founded by prominent leaders in education like Carlos Fonseca, Silvio Mayorga , Tomás Borge , Gordillo, Navarro y Francisco Buitrago; prominent leaders on workers issues such as Jose Benito Escobar ; countryside leaders like Germán Pomares and small business leaders such as Julio Jerez Suárez. Legendary guerilla veteran Santos Lopez, who fought with Augusto Cesar Sandino, also participated in

987-508: A communiqué with FSLN's call for general insurrection and gave the guerrillas safe passage to Panama. A few days later six Nicaraguan cities rose in revolt. Armed youths took over the highland city of Matagalpa . Tercerista cadres attacked Guard posts in Managua , Masaya , León , Chinandega and Estelí . Large numbers of semi-armed civilians joined the revolt and put the Guard garrisons of

1128-479: A group of brothers, some of whom are behaving justly while others are acting unjustly. When questioned about the optimal resolution, Cleinias suggests that the most effective judge would not necessarily be one who imposes the just to govern over the unjust, whether by force or consent. Instead, he advocates for a judge who facilitates reconciliation by establishing a mutually agreed-upon set of laws designed to maintain harmony among them. This implies Cleinias' belief that

1269-671: A group of prominent Nicaraguan professionals, business leaders, and clergymen allied with the Terceristas to form " El Grupo de los Doce " (The Group of Twelve) in Costa Rica . The group's main idea was to organize a provisional government in Costa Rica. The Terceristas' new strategy also included unarmed strikes and rioting by labor and student groups coordinated by the FSLN's "United People's Movement" (Movimiento Pueblo Unido – MPU). On January 10, 1978, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro ,

1410-490: A group within the FSLN's urban mobilization arm began to question the GPP's viability. In the view of the young orthodox Marxist intellectuals, such as Jaime Wheelock , economic development had turned Nicaragua into a nation of factory workers and wage-earning farm laborers. Wheelock's faction was known as the "Proletarian Tendency". Shortly after, a third faction arose within the FSLN. The "Insurrectional Tendency", also known as

1551-419: A keen understanding of the terrain, leveraging its intricacies to their advantage while remaining ever vigilant to the threats lurking amidst the foliage. They move with stealth and precision, navigating through dense undergrowth and treacherous terrain with unwavering focus. The recruitment efforts saw hundreds of men voluntarily enlist or were conscripted into these militias, demonstrating a commitment to serve

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1692-593: A leadership role in the overthrow of the Somoza regime. By mid-April 1979, five guerrilla fronts opened under the FSLN's joint command, including an internal front in Managua. Young guerrilla cadres and the National Guardsmen were clashing almost daily in cities throughout the country. The Final Offensive's strategic goal was the division of the enemy's forces. Urban insurrection was the crucial element because

1833-403: A left-wing government to take power in Nicaragua. The moderate "Broad Opposition Front" ( Frente Amplio Opositor – FAO), which opposed Somoza, was made up of a conglomeration of dissidents within the government as well as the "Democratic Union of Liberation" (UDEL) and the "Twelve", representatives of the Terceristas (whose founding members included Casimiro A. Sotelo, later to become Ambassador to

1974-508: A national insurrection. Hard-core Sandinista guerrillas numbered perhaps 2,000 to 3,000; untrained popular militias and foreign supporters added several thousand more to this total. Although the "first offensive" of September 1978 declined toward the end of the year, fighting did not completely stop. The FSLN mounted its "final offensive" in May 1979, capturing a number of cities in June, and launching

2115-514: A network of intelligence systems in order to apprehend their supporters. These activities led critics of the Sandinistas to argue that the CDS was a system of local spy networks for the government used to stifle political dissent, and the CDS did hold limited powers—such as the ability to suspend privileges such as driver licenses and passports—if locals refused to cooperate with the government. After

2256-461: A new airbase with a longer runway and protective revetments, it did not succeed in acquiring new fighter aircraft. A series of radar sites were constructed to give the Sandinistas radar coverage over most of Nicaragua, with the added capability of monitoring aircraft movements in neighboring countries. A Soviet-designed early-warning/ground-control intercept facility gave the air force the potential to control its combat aircraft from command elements on

2397-566: A new government, they created a Council (or junta ) of National Reconstruction, made up of five appointed members. Three of the appointed members—Sandinista militants Daniel Ortega , Moisés Hassán , and novelist Sergio Ramírez (a member of Los Doce "the Twelve")—belonged to the FSLN. Two opposition members, businessman Alfonso Robelo , and Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (the widow of Pedro Joaquín Chamorro), were also appointed. Only three votes were needed to pass law. The FSLN also established

2538-530: A party in the house of the Minister of Agriculture in the Managua suburb Los Robles, among them several leading Nicaraguan officials and Somoza relatives. The siege was carefully timed to take place after the departure of the US ambassador from the gathering. At 10:50 pm, a group of 15 young guerrillas and their commanders, Pomares and Contreras, entered the house. They killed the minister, who tried to shoot them, during

2679-626: A rapid FAS/DAA buildup. Beginning in 1982, the Sandinistas received from Libya the Italian-made SF-260A trainer /tactical support aircraft and the Czechoslovak Aero L-39 Albatros , a subsonic jet trainer that could be missile-armed for close-in air defense . In addition to light and medium transport aircraft, the air force acquired a fleet of helicopters from the Soviet Union that served against

2820-458: A result of the 2011 Egyptian revolution , counter revolutionary techniques included: power outages by remnants of his regime, police allegedly refused to serve citizens and oil was thrown into the desert to halt gas station services. On 1 February 2012, the biggest tragedy in Egyptian football resulted in the deaths of 72 Al Ahly fans. It happened after exactly a year when Mubarak announced in

2961-614: A revolutionary movement before it takes power, as well as attempts to restore the old regime after a successful revolution. Defunct Defunct The word "counter-revolutionary" originally referred to thinkers who opposed themselves to the 1789 French Revolution , such as Joseph de Maistre , Louis de Bonald or, later, Charles Maurras , the founder of the Action Française monarchist movement. More recently, it has been used in France to describe political movements that reject

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3102-530: A single US soldier left on Nicaraguan soil, however in 1930 the US had formed a group for national security known as the National Guard . The National Guard remained after the exit of the U.S. under the leadership of Anastasio Somoza Garcia who was supported by the U.S. On 21 February 1934, Somoza, using the National Guard, assassinated Sandino who opposed and fought against US intervention. This

3243-527: A speech that there would be chaos if he stepped down, the very same day when armed thugs attacked protestors of the 2011 revolution. Many photographic and footage evidence also show that police and security forces in the stadium were unwilling to respond to the riot. Many argue that the riot was planned as a revenge against Ultras Ahlawy taking part in the 2011 revolution against Hosni Mubarak and their constant anti-governmental chants in matches. Finally on 3 July 2013, Defense Minister Abdel-Fattah Al Sisi overthrew

3384-463: A state can be considered morally superior when the virtuous citizens triumph over the unruly masses and the less virtuous classes. He asserts, "the state in which the better citizens win a victory over the mob and over the inferior classes may be truly said to be better than itself, and may be justly praised." However, the Athenian presents a hypothetical scenario wherein someone must pass judgment on

3525-412: A three-pronged assault against Managua in early July. When Somoza resigned on July 16 and fled the country, the National Guard collapsed two days later. Sandinista ranks had ballooned during the final weeks of the insurrection with the addition of thousands of untrained and undisciplined volunteers. These self-recruits with access to weapons were the source of considerable crime and violence. By late 1979,

3666-418: A two-year term in defense of their nation. These soldiers underwent rigorous training to equip them with the skills and resilience necessary to confront the complex challenges posed by insurgent forces in the region. 12 BLI'S were raised : Light Hunter Battalions ( Batallón Ligero Cazador , BLC) The BLCs were another type of counterinsurgency unit, first deployed in early 1986. They were about half

3807-453: Is anyone who opposes or resists a revolution , particularly one who acts after a revolution in order to try to overturn it or reverse its course, in full or in part. The adjective "counter-revolutionary" pertains to movements that would restore the state of affairs, or the principles, that prevailed during a prerevolutionary era. A counter-revolution is opposition or resistance to a revolutionary movement. It can refer to attempts to defeat

3948-575: Is named after Augusto César Sandino , who led the Nicaraguan resistance against the United States occupation of Nicaragua in the 1930s. The FSLN overthrew Anastasio Somoza Debayle in the 1979 Nicaraguan Revolution , ending the Somoza dynasty , and established a revolutionary government in its place. Having seized power, the Sandinistas ruled Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, first as part of

4089-611: Is the Spanish equivalent of "-ist". Sandino was assassinated in 1934 by the Nicaraguan National Guard ( Guardia Nacional ), the US-equipped police force of Anastasio Somoza , whose family ruled the country from 1936 until they were overthrown by the Sandinistas in 1979. The second U.S. intervention in Nicaragua ended when Juan Bautista Sacasa of the Liberal Party won the elections. By 1 January 1933 there wasn't

4230-741: The Algerian National Liberation Front was founded to fight against French colonial control. In Nicaragua, different movements that opposed the Somoza dynasty began to unite, forming the Nicaraguan National Liberation Front which would later be renamed the Sandinista National Liberation Front. The economic situation of Nicaragua in the mid-20th century had deteriorated as the prices of agricultural exports such as cotton and coffee dropped. Politically,

4371-614: The Defensive Army of National Sovereignty ) died. The following year the events of "El Dorado" (February 28, 1960) took place where several events occurred leading to several deaths including Luis Morales, Julio Alonso Leclair (head of the September 15 column), Manuel Baldizón and Erasmo Montoya. The conventional opposition, up to that point led by the Nicaraguan Communist Party , had not been able to form

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4512-536: The FARC , and other left-wing guerrilla movements. Some counter-revolutionaries are former revolutionaries who supported the initial overthrow of the previous regime, but came to differ with those who ultimately came to power after the revolution. For example, some of the Contras originally fought with the Sandinistas to overthrow Anastasio Somoza , and some of those who oppose Castro also opposed Batista . During

4653-790: The German Revolution of 1918–1919 and signing of the Treaty of Versailles , a failed coup d'état known as the Kapp Putsch was instigated by various elements opposed to the Weimar Republic . It was led principally by Wolfgang Kapp and Walther von Lüttwitz . During the Weimar era, the German Realm became an ideological battlefield between "red" and "white" factions, with the state eventually becoming bifurcated between

4794-630: The German Revolution of 1918–1919 , were also counter-revolutionaries. The Bolshevik government tried to build an anti-revolutionary image for the Green armies composed of peasant rebels. The largest peasant rebellion against Bolshevik rule occurred in 1920–21 in Tambov . General Victoriano Huerta , and later the Felicistas , attempted to thwart the Mexican Revolution in the 1910s. In

4935-520: The Holy Roman Empire and German Confederation , operated under counterrevolutionary principles, with these monarchical federations crushing attempted uprisings in, for example, 1848 . After the 1867 – 71 creation of a new German realm by Prussia , chancellor Otto von Bismarck used policies favored by Socialists (such as state-sponsored healthcare) to undercut the opponents of the monarchy and protect it against revolution. Not long after

5076-601: The National Assembly . Sandinista officers remained at the head of all general staff directorates and military regions. The chief of the army, Major General Joaquín Cuadra Lacayo, continued in his pre-Chamorro position. Facing domestic pressure to remove Humberto Ortega and the risk of curtailment of United States aid as long as Sandinistas remained in control of the armed forces, Chamorro announced that Ortega would be replaced in 1994. Ortega challenged her authority to relieve him and reiterated his intention to remain at

5217-751: The National Opposition Union (Unión Nacional Oppositora—UNO) and the defeated FSLN party, Humberto Ortega remained at the head of the armed forces. By a law that took effect in April 1990, the SLA became subordinate to President Chamorro as commander in chief. Chamorro also retained the Ministry of Defense portfolio. Chamorro's authority over the SLA was, however, very limited. There were no Ministry of Defense offices and no vice ministers to shape national defense policies or exercise civilian control over

5358-639: The Qing dynasty by seizing Beijing in the Manchu Restoration . The anti-communist (and thus counter-revolutionary) Kuomintang party in China used the term "counter-revolutionary" to disparage the communists and other opponents of its regime. Chiang Kai-shek , the Kuomintang party leader, was the chief user of this term. The reason that the nominally conservative Kuomintang used this terminology

5499-626: The Soviet Union nor France was willing to extend credits for the purchase of modern MiG or Mirage aircraft. The United States warned that the introduction of sophisticated jet fighters would risk retaliatory strikes because of the potential threat to the Panama Canal . Armed patrol craft and small minesweepers replaced the old patrol boats left by the National Guard, to defend against attacks on harbors and shore installations. Under an agreement between President-elect Violeta Chamorro of

5640-556: The conservative party of Nicaragua split and one of the factions, the Zancudos , began collaborating with the Somoza regime. Anastasio Somoza Garcia was assassinated by poet Rigoberto Lopez Perez in 1956. In 1957 Carlos Fonseca Amador, Silvio Mayorga, Tomás Borge, Oswaldo Madriz y Heriberto Carrillo formed the first cell of the Nicaraguan Revolutionary Committee who identified with the issues of

5781-447: The "Third Way" or Terceristas , led by Daniel Ortega , his brother Humberto Ortega , and Mexican-born Victor Tirado Lopez, was more pragmatic and called for tactical, temporary alliances with non-communists, including the right-wing opposition, in a popular front against the Somoza regime. By attacking the Guard directly, the Terceristas would demonstrate the regime's weakness and encourage others to take up arms. In October 1977,

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5922-760: The "United People's Movement" (MPU). This strengthened the revolutionary organizations as tens of thousands of youths joined the FSLN and the fight against Somoza. A direct consequence of the spread of the armed struggle in Nicaragua was the official reunification of the FSLN that took place March 7, 1979. Nine men, three from each tendency, formed the National Directorate that led the reunited FSLN: Daniel Ortega , Humberto Ortega and Víctor Tirado (Terceristas); Tomás Borge , Bayardo Arce Castaño  [ es ; ru ] , and Henry Ruiz (GPP faction); and Jaime Wheelock , Luis Carrión and Carlos Núñez . The FSLN evolved from one of many opposition groups to

6063-411: The "return of Somoza's rule". On July 17, Somoza resigned, handed over power to Francisco Urcuyo , and fled to Miami . While initially seeking to remain in power to serve out Somoza's presidential term, Urcuyo ceded his position to the junta and fled to Guatemala two days later. On July 19, the 18th anniversary of the foundation of the FSLN, the FSLN army entered Managua, culminating the first goal of

6204-549: The 1980s. Most of these are out-of-date and poorly maintained. The EPS's inventory of armor—heavy and light tanks, APCs, and reconnaissance vehicles—remains large by Central American standards. However, most of the Soviet T-55 tanks are reportedly in storage because of a lack of funds and personnel to maintain them. The PT-76 light tanks form the primary armor of the mechanized infantry battalion. Only about seventy-five APCs and reconnaissance vehicles are operational, and some of

6345-572: The 1982 State of Emergency, opposition parties were no longer given representation in the council. The preponderance of power also remained with the Sandinistas through their mass organizations, including the Sandinista Workers' Federation ( Central Sandinista de Trabajadores ), the Luisa Amanda Espinoza Nicaraguan Women's Association ( Asociación de Mujeres Nicaragüenses Luisa Amanda Espinoza ),

6486-678: The Bourbon government in exile and the Papal States . The revolt, labelled pejoratively by opponents as brigandage , resulted in a bloody civil war that lasted almost ten years. In the Austrian Empire , a revolt took place against Napoleon called the Tyrolean Rebellion in 1809. Led by a Tyrolean innkeeper by the name of Andreas Hofer , 20,000 Tyrolean rebels fought successfully against Napoleon's troops. However, Hofer

6627-819: The Commanding General of the Army. The militia and the border guard service were both disbanded with the latter forming the Northern and Southern Military Detachments of the Army Ground Forces. Sandinista The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( Spanish : Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional , FSLN ) is a Christian socialist political party in Nicaragua . Its members are called Sandinistas ( Spanish pronunciation: [sandiˈnistas] ) in both English and Spanish. The party

6768-516: The Contra war, the Sandinistas arrested suspected members of the Contra militias and censored publications they accused of collaborating with the enemy, such as the U.S., the FDN, and ARDE. In March 1982 the Sandinistas declared an official State of Emergency. They argued that this was a response to attacks by counter-revolutionary forces. The State of Emergency lasted six years, until January 1988, when it

6909-466: The Contras. Each BLI comprised four to nine companies, typically totaling between 700 and 800 highly trained personnel.Their training begins long before they set foot in the jungle, honing their physical strength, mental fortitude, and tactical prowess. Equipped with specialized gear and weaponry suited for the rugged environment, they embark on their missions with a sense of purpose and determination. Bli were Fearless soldiers in jungle combat and possessed

7050-580: The Contras. They included Mi-8 and Mi-17 transport helicopters and later the Mi-24 , followed by its export variant, the Mi-25 , a modern armored assault helicopter. After Humberto Ortega revealed that Nicaragua had approached France and the Soviet Union for Mirage or MiG fighter planes, the United States warned against introducing modern combat jets to the region. Although Nicaragua began construction of

7191-718: The Defense of the Revolution , called Sandinista Defense Committees ( Comités de Defensa Sandinista or CDS). Especially in the early days following Somoza's overthrow, the CDSes served as de facto units of local governance. Their obligations included political education, organizing Sandinista rallies, distributing food rations, organizing neighborhood/regional cleanup and recreational activities, policing to control looting, and apprehending counter-revolutionaries. The CDSes organized civilian defense efforts against Contra activities and

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7332-537: The FSLN could never hope to outnumber or outgun the National Guard. On June 4, the FSLN called a general strike, to last until Somoza fell and an uprising was launched in Managua. On June 16, the formation of a provisional Nicaraguan government in exile, consisting of a five-member Junta of National Reconstruction , was announced and organized in Costa Rica. The members of the new junta were Daniel Ortega (FSLN), Moisés Hassán (FPN), Sergio Ramírez (the "Twelve"), Alfonso Robelo (MDN) and Violeta Barrios de Chamorro ,

7473-486: The FSLN first became a force to be reckoned with when it executed a raid and hostage taking at a reception for the United States ambassador in Managua in December 1974. The Somoza administration was forced to accede to FSLN demands for ransom and political freedom for fourteen FSLN prisoners. The National Guard followed with a major counteroffensive that reduced armed resistance in the countryside. The FSLN remained on

7614-417: The FSLN. He and his group were betrayed by someone who informed the National Guard that they were in the area. The guerrilla group was ambushed, and Fonseca was wounded in the process. The next morning the National Guard executed Fonseca. After the FSLN's defeat at the battle of Pancasán in 1967, it adopted the "Prolonged Popular War" ( Guerra Popular Prolongada , GPP) theory as its strategic doctrine. The GPP

7755-698: The German people by propagandistic demonstrations linking the Nazi state to the traditional Reich ("realm" or "empire") by referring to it informally as the "Drittes Reich" ("Third Realm"), implying a specious continuity between it and the historic German entities appealing to German reactionaries: the Holy Roman Empire (the "First Realm") and the German Empire (the "Second Realm"). (See also reactionary modernism .) Many historians have held that

7896-445: The Great . The fact that the Nazis called their 1933 rise to power the national revolution showed that they understood the popular hunger for some type of radical change; nonetheless, they understood the equally powerful popular impulse toward stability and continuity, and rejected the parliamentarianism of the Weimar Constitution as merely a first step towards Bolshevism. Thus, for instance, they catered to reactionary tendencies among

8037-432: The Kuomintang. Chiang showed extreme rage when he was called a warlord, because of its negative, feudal connotations. Chiang also crushed and dominated the merchants of Shanghai in 1927, seizing loans from them, with the threats of death or exile. Rich merchants , industrialists , and entrepreneurs were arrested by Chiang, who accused them of being "counter-revolutionary", and Chiang held them until they gave money to

8178-401: The Kuomintang. Chiang's arrests targeted rich millionaires, accusing them of communism and counter-revolutionary activities. Chiang also enforced an anti-Japanese boycott, sending his agents to sack the shops of those who sold Japanese made items and fining them. He also disregarded the internationally protected International Settlement, putting cages on its borders in which he threatened to place

8319-427: The MPS were older-model rifles and machine guns and mortars . Militia members displaying aptitude during weekend training sessions were selected for several months of full-time training, followed by up to six months of service in the field. During 1982 and 1983, the militia had primary responsibility for border defense and thus sustained heavy casualties, while the regular army was concentrated at permanent bases. After

8460-453: The NNM. The New Nicaragua Movement was established in three cities Managua, Leon and Estelí , however they were generally stationed in Honduras. Their first public activity was held in March 1961, in support of the Cuban revolution and in protest of the position that the Nicaraguan government held with Cuba. The NNM later dissolved to make way for the National Liberation Front. The New Nicaragua Movement soon dissolved with its members forming

8601-590: The National Liberation Front, FLN. The FSLN originated in the milieu of various oppositional organizations, youth and student groups in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The university of Léon , and the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN) in Managua were two of the principal centers of activity. Inspired by the Revolution and the FLN in Algeria, the FSLN was founded in 1961 by Carlos Fonseca , Silvio Mayorga  [ es ; ru ] , Tomás Borge , Casimiro Sotelo and others as The National Liberation Front (FLN). Only Borge lived long enough to see

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8742-413: The National Union of Farmers and Ranchers ( Unión Nacional de Agricultores y Ganaderos ), and most importantly the Sandinista Defense Committees (CDS). The Sandinista-controlled mass organizations were extremely influential over civil society and saw their power and popularity peak in the mid-1980s. Upon assuming power, the FSLN's official political platform included nationalization of property owned by

8883-442: The National Workers' Front for improved pay and benefits. The SLA and the Frontier Guards also assist the police in narcotics control. A small EPS contingent works alongside demobilized Contras in a Special Disarmament Brigade to reduce the arsenal of weapons in civilian hands. As of 1993, the army's strength was estimated at 13,500 personnel. The SLA is organized into six regional commands and two military departments subordinate to

9024-467: The Nazi Party march Die Fahne hoch which labeled them as reactionaries ( Reaktion ) and counted them together with the Red Front as enemies of the Nazis. Nevertheless, in practice the Nazis supported many of the same ideas as the counterrevolutionary factions and virulently opposed revolutionary Marxism (e.g., using the conservative Freikorps to crush Communist uprisings), ostensibly idealising German tradition, folklore, and heroes, such as Frederick

9165-612: The Pacific and Puerto Cabezas on the Caribbean . Other installations are at El Bluff near Bluefields and San Juan del Sur on the Pacific . The Sandinistas had acquired eight Soviet minesweeping boats, of which seven remained in 1993, but none is known to be in operating condition. Three Soviet Zhuk-class patrol boats are believed to be seaworthy, out of seven that remained at the end of 1990. Also believed to be operational are three North Korean fast patrol boats as well as two Vedette-type boats built in France and armed with Soviet 14.2mm machine guns . The Nicaraguan government established

9306-424: The Republican side, the acts of the Communist Party of Spain against the rural collectives are also sometimes considered counter-revolutionary. The Carlist cause began with the First Carlist War in 1833 and continues to the present. The White Army and its supporters who tried to defeat the Bolsheviks after the October Revolution , as well as the German politicians, police, soldiers and Freikorps who crushed

9447-471: The Sandinista Defense Committees organized in the neighborhoods and up to 80 percent of Revolutionary Vigilance volunteers, who carried out nighttime patrols in urban neighborhoods and at industrial sites. With the transformation of the SPA into the Nicaraguan Army in 1995, the ground forces element became known by its current name – the Nicaraguan Army Ground Forces ( Fuerzas Terrestres del Ejército de Nicaragua ), formed in 1995. They report directly to

9588-526: The Sandinista People's Militia (Milicia Popular Sandinista—MPS) to augment the regular troops. The militia represented both a massive political mobilization and the primary means of defending the countryside against the Contras. Individual militias received weekend training in basic infantry weapons and were assigned as guards in sensitive installations or as neighborhood night watches. A typical militia battalion of 700 persons consisted of five infantry companies and various support units. The principal weapons of

9729-553: The Sandinista government eventually divided into two main groups: The Fuerza Democrática Nicaragüense (FDN), a U.S.-supported army formed in 1981 by the CIA, U.S. State Department, and former members of the Somoza-era Nicaraguan National Guard; and the Alianza Revolucionaria Democratica (ARDE) Democratic Revolutionary Alliance , a group that had existed since before the FSLN and was led by Sandinista founder and former FSLN supreme commander Edén Pastora , a.k.a. "Commander Zero". Milpistas, former anti-Somoza rural militias, eventually formed

9870-519: The Sandinista guerrillas was gradually replaced by Soviet AK-47 assault rifles in the EPS and eventually among combat elements of the militia as well. The Sandinistas upgraded the modest air force left by the National Guard after sending personnel to Cuba and East European countries for pilot and mechanic training. The most important acquisitions were Soviet helicopters for battlefield transport and assault missions. Although pilots were trained and runways constructed in preparation for jet fighters, neither

10011-410: The Sandinista victory in 1979. A congress or assembly is not formed between all the prominent leaders of the various groups as the preparation would have required a prior theoretical process in order to create them. As a result, the FSLN was not prepared for its own formation. Different discussions took place within the group as they came to a consensus on political ideas. Even in 1963, while still under

10152-730: The Self-Defense Workers' Cooperatives. Aside from the BLIs and BLCs, the SPA also sported the following units: When the Sandinistas assumed control in 1979, the Sandinista Air Force/Air Defense Force (Fuerza Aérea Sandinista/Defensa Anti-Aérea—FAS/DAA) inherited only the remnants of the National Guard's small air force. Equipment included a few AT-33A armed jet trainers, Cessna 337s , and some transports, trainers, and helicopters. The time required to train pilots and construct airfields precluded

10293-479: The Somozas and their supporters; land reform; improved rural and urban working conditions; free unionization for all workers, both urban and rural; price fixing for commodities of basic necessity; improved public services, housing conditions, education; abolition of torture, political assassination and the death penalty; protection of democratic liberties; equality for women; non-aligned foreign policy; and formation of

10434-506: The U.S. and Canada representing the FSLN). The FAO and Carter came up with a plan to remove Somoza from office but give the FSLN no government power. The FAO's efforts lost political legitimacy, as the grassroots support of the FSLN wanted more structural changes and was opposed to "Somocism without Somoza". The "Twelve" abandoned the coalition in protest and formed the "National Patriotic Front" ( Frente Patriotico Nacional – FPN) together with

10575-639: The War in the Vendée. The suppression of this counter-revolution produced what is considered by some historians to be the first modern genocide . Monarchists and Catholics took up arms against the revolutionary French Republic in 1793 after the government asked that 300,000 men be conscripted into the Republican military in the levée en masse . The Vendeans also rose up against Napoleon 's attempt to conscript them in 1815. The German Empire , and its predecessors

10716-454: The armed forces. Under the Law of Military Organization of the SLA enacted just before Chamorro's election victory, Ortega retained authority over promotions, military construction, and force deployments. He contracted for weapons procurement and drafted the military budget presented to the government. Only an overall budget had to be submitted to the legislature, thus avoiding a line-item review by

10857-648: The armored weapons have been sold to other Latin American countries. These are now complemented by the Venezuelan made Tiuna 4X4 armored car. The army retains a considerable supply of 122mm and 152mm towed artillery pieces and multiple rocket launchers. Twelve of its APCs are mounted with Soviet AT-3 (Sagger) antitank guided missiles. The army retains numerous antitank guns and a stock of Soviet shoulder-fired antiaircraft missile launchers. Irregular Warfare Battalions ( Batallón de Lucha Irregular ) Recognizing

10998-473: The army general staff. Since 1990 the mission of the SLA has been to ensure the security of the national borders and to deal with internal disturbances. Its primary task has been to prevent disorder and violence wrought by armed bands of former Contra and Sandinista soldiers. In November and December 1992, the SLA was deployed alongside the National Police to prevent violence during demonstrations by

11139-592: The basis of what is now today the Nicaraguan Army Ground Forces ( Fuerzas Terrestres del Ejército de Nicaragua ), formed in 1995. They report directly to the Commanding General of the Army. The Sandanista National Liberation Front (FSLN) was founded in Honduras on July 26, 1961, the eighth anniversary of the launching of the Cuban revolution by Fidel Castro . The FSLN operated at first in

11280-705: The cardinal Fabrizio Ruffo , which overthrew the Parthenopean Republic and allowed the Bourbon dynasty to return to the throne of the Kingdom of Naples . A resurgence of the phenomenon happened during the Napoleon's second Italian campaign in the early 19th century. Another example of counter-revolution was the peasants' rebellion in Southern Italy after the national unification , fomented by

11421-688: The command of Rafael Somarriba (in which Carlos Fonseca was integrated) was found and annihilated by the Honduran Army in coordination with the intelligence services of the Nicaraguan National Guard. After "El Chaparral", several more armed rebellions took place. In August the journalist Manuel Díaz y Sotelo died; in September Carlos "Chale" Haslam died; in December Heriberto Reyes (Colonel of

11562-502: The conservative Junker nobility which dominated the army and other high offices, including the presidency with Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg , and the leftist revolutionaries who attempted several coups in the 1920s and later gained a base in parliament via the Communist Party of Germany , which, being internationalist in nature, opposed the extremist nationalism of the new Nazi Party . The Nazis, by making common cause with

11703-421: The constitution. Ortega and the FSLN were reelected in the presidential elections of 2011 , 2016 , and 2021 , although these elections have been criticized by international observers. The Sandinistas took their name from Augusto César Sandino (1895–1934), the leader of Nicaragua's nationalist rebellion against the US occupation of the country during the early 20th century (ca. 1922–1934). The suffix "-ista"

11844-510: The counterrevolutionaries against the Communists, effected a takeover of the German state, at first under the adopted imagery of the monarchical era and only later (after the death of Hindenburg) under purely Nazi imagery. The Nazis did not publicly characterise themselves as counterrevolutionaries; they condemned the traditional German forces of conservatism (e.g., Prussian monarchists , Junkers , and Roman Catholic clergy ), for example in

11985-499: The country for humanitarian reasons. In August, the Terceristas took hostages. Twenty-three Tercerista commandos led by Edén Pastora seized the entire Nicaraguan congress and took nearly 1,000 hostages, including Somoza's nephew José Somoza Abrego and cousin Luis Pallais Debayle. Somoza gave in to their demands and paid a $ 500,000 ransom, released 59 political prisoners (including GPP chief Tomás Borge ), broadcast

12126-406: The country for ten days weakened private enterprises and most of them decided to suspend their participation in less than two weeks. Meanwhile, Somoza asserted his intention to stay in power until the end of his presidential term in 1981. The United States government showed its displeasure with Somoza by suspending all military assistance to the regime, but continued to approve economic assistance to

12267-705: The country rather than serve in the armed forces, and antidraft protests were widespread. The unpopularity of the draft was believed to have been a large factor in the Sandinista election defeat in 1990. Inheriting only the battered remnants of the equipment of Somoza's National Guard, the Sandinistas eventually acquired enough Soviet heavy and light tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs) to form five armored battalions. The Soviets and their allies delivered large amounts of other equipment, including 122mm and 155mm howitzers , 122mm multiple rocket launchers , trucks, and tank carriers. A mix of infantry weapons employed by

12408-550: The defensive until 1977, but the guard's harsh reprisals caused popular feeling to swing even more toward the Sandinistas. The seizure of the Nicaraguan National Palace by a small group of Sandinistas in August 1978 sparked a mass uprising in the following month. The uprising was a turning point in the struggle to overthrow Somoza . The FSLN no longer was fighting alone but rather was organizing and controlling

12549-492: The democratically elected president Mohamed Morsi , who was the first president to be elected by the Egyptian people since the proclamation of the republic in 1953. The counter-revolution ended when Al Sisi was sworn as Egypt’s 6th president in June 2014. In the Laws , Plato relates a dialogue between Cleinias of Crete and an unnamed Athenian interlocutor. Part of their discourse touches on counter-revolution. Cleinias posits that

12690-455: The destruction of diesel storage facilities at Corinto in 1983 and the mining of Nicaraguan harbors in 1984. The Sandinista navy (Marina de Guerra Sandinista—MGS), which had reached a peak strength of 3,000 personnel in 1990, suffered a sweeping reduction to 800 by 1993. The commander of the navy is an SPA officer with the rank of major. The principal bases of the MGS are at the ports of Corinto on

12831-623: The economy and overseeing runaway inflation. A US-backed group, known as the Contras , was formed in 1981 to overthrow the Sandinista government and was funded and trained by the Central Intelligence Agency . The United States sought to place economic pressure on the Sandinista government by imposing a full trade embargo and by planting underwater mines in Nicaragua's ports. In 1984, free and fair elections were held, but were boycotted by opposition parties. The FSLN won

12972-677: The editor of the opposition newspaper La Prensa and leader of the "Democratic Union of Liberation" (Unión Democrática de Liberación – UDEL), was assassinated. His assassins were not identified at the time, but evidence implicated Somoza's son and other members of the National Guard. Spontaneous riots followed in several cities, while the business community organized a general strike demanding Somoza's resignation. The Terceristas carried out attacks in early February in several Nicaraguan cities. The National Guard responded by further increasing repression and using force to contain and intimidate all government opposition. The nationwide strike that paralyzed

13113-527: The freedom to organize demonstrations, the inviolability of the home, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, and the freedom to strike. All independent news program broadcasts were suspended. In total, twenty-four programs were cancelled. In addition, Sandinista censor Nelba Cecilia Blandón issued a decree ordering all radio stations to take broadcasts from government radio station La Voz de La Defensa de La Patria every six hours. Counter-revolutionary A counter-revolutionary or an anti-revolutionary

13254-484: The general staff. The largest unit is a motorized infantry brigade of four battalions . In addition, there are a mechanized infantry battalion and three artillery battalions. The Irregular Warfare Battalions have been reduced to ten infantry companies. A Special Forces battalion has been formed from airborne and Special Forces personnel. Most of these units are neither fully staffed nor adequately equipped. The army continues to depend on Soviet weapons delivered during

13395-490: The ground. After 1990 the FAS/DAA was no longer able to maintain its full aircraft inventory without Soviet support. The personnel complement fell from 3,000 in 1990 to 1,200 in 1993. Airbases at Bluefields , Montelimar, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino , and Managua remained operational. Combat aircraft were reduced to a single mixed squadron of Cessna 337s, L-39s, and SF-260As. However, the serviceability of all these aircraft

13536-818: The head of the EPS until the army reform program was completed in 1997. The army reform measures were launched with deep cuts in personnel strengths, the abolition of conscription, and disbanding of the militia. The size of the army declined from a peak strength of 97,000 troops to an estimated 15,200 in 1993, accomplished by voluntary discharges and forced retirements. Under the Sandinistas, the army general staff embodied numerous branches and directorates—artillery, combat readiness , communications, Frontier Guards, military construction, intelligence, counterintelligence , training, operations, organization and mobilization, personnel, and logistics . Most of these bodies appear to have been retained, although they have been trimmed and reorganized. The air force and navy were also subordinate to

13677-552: The imperative for skilled troops adept in counterinsurgency tactics and anti-guerrilla warfare, the SLA initiated the deployment of Battalion Light Infantry (BLI) units in 1983. These BLIs constituted specialized forces capable of swift mobilization and sustained operations, particularly in the rugged terrain and dense jungles of Nicaragua where insurgent activity was prevalent. Operating with agility and endurance, BLIs were tasked with penetrating deep into hostile territories to confront and neutralize insurgent threats, primarily targeting

13818-457: The initiation of heavier U.S. military involvement in the Nicaraguan conflict the CDS was empowered to enforce wartime bans on political assembly and association with other political parties (i.e., parties associated with the Contras). By 1980, conflicts began to emerge between the Sandinista and non-Sandinista members of the governing junta. Violeta Chamorro and Alfonso Robelo resigned from

13959-404: The installation of the draft in 1983 enabled the SPA to widen its operations, the main function of the mobilized militia became the protection of rural communities. The FSLN claimed that 250,000 persons had received some form of military training, of whom 100,000 were mobilized in active units. Before Somoza overthrow, women had constituted up to 40 percent of the ranks of the FSLN and 6 percent of

14100-514: The international aid that flowed into the country to assist in reconstruction, and several parts of downtown Managua were never rebuilt. The president gave reconstruction contracts preferentially to family and friends, thereby profiting from the quake and increasing his control of the city's economy. By some estimates, his personal wealth rose to US$ 400 million in 1974. In December 1974, a guerrilla group affiliated with FSLN directed by Eduardo Contreras and Germán Pomares seized government hostages at

14241-498: The junta in 1980, and rumors began that members of the Ortega junta would consolidate power among themselves. These allegations spread, and rumors intensified that it was Ortega's goal to turn Nicaragua into a state modeled after Cuban socialism . In 1979 and 1980, former Somoza supporters and ex-members of Somoza's National Guard formed irregular military forces, while the original core of the FSLN began to splinter. Armed opposition to

14382-468: The largest pool of recruits for the Contras . Although independent and often in conflict with each other, these guerrilla bands—along with several others—all became known as Contras (short for contrarrevolucionarios —counter-revolutionaries). The opposition militias were initially organized and largely remained segregated according to regional affiliation and political backgrounds. They conducted attacks on economic, military, and civilian targets. During

14523-545: The late 1920s, Mexican Catholics took up arms against the Mexican Federal Government in what became known as the Cristero War . The President of Mexico, Plutarco Elias Calles, was elected in 1924. Calles began carrying out anti-Catholic policies which caused peaceful resistance from Catholics in 1926. The counter-revolution began as a movement of peaceful resistance against the anti-clerical laws. In

14664-401: The latter four cities under siege. The September Insurrection of 1978 was subdued at the cost of several thousand, mostly civilian, casualties. Members of all three factions fought in these uprisings, which began to blur the divisions and prepare the way for unified action. In early 1979, President Jimmy Carter and the United States ended support for the Somoza government, but did not want

14805-618: The legacy of the 1789 Revolution, which historian René Rémond has referred to as légitimistes . Thus, monarchist supporters of the Ancien Régime following the French Revolution were counter-revolutionaries, as were supporters of the War in the Vendée and of the monarchies that put down the various Revolutions of 1848 . The royalist legitimist counter-revolutionary French movement survives to this day, albeit marginally. It

14946-538: The legislature. The FSLN is now Nicaragua's sole leading party. In the 2006 Nicaraguan general election , former FSLN President Daniel Ortega was reelected President of Nicaragua with 38.7% of the vote to 29% for his leading rival, bringing in the country's second Sandinista government after 17 years of other parties winning elections. In October 2009, the Supreme Court, which has a majority of Sandinista judges, overturned presidential term limits that were set by

15087-409: The majority of the votes, and those who opposed the Sandinistas won approximately a third of the seats. The civil war between the Contras and the government continued until 1989. After revising the constitution in 1987, and after years of fighting the Contras, the FSLN lost the 1990 election to Violeta Barrios de Chamorro in an election marked by US interference, but retained a plurality of seats in

15228-702: The merchants. The Kuomintang's alliance with the Green Gang allowed it to ignore the borders of the foreign concessions. A similar term also existed in the People's Republic of China , which includes charges such collaborating with foreign forces and inciting revolts against the government and ruling CCP . According to Article 28 of the Chinese constitution , The state maintains public order and suppresses treasonable and other counter-revolutionary activities; It penalizes actions that endanger public security and disrupt

15369-540: The mid-19th century Bakumatsu , especially during the Japanese civil war of 1868–1869, the pro-bakufu forces and especially the samurai (and after the period ex-samurai) were left without money since their skills are obsolete, so they banded up with the eastern shogunate led by the Shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu who wished to drive foreign and especially Western European and American influence against

15510-557: The mountainous region that forms the border between Honduras and Nicaragua. Early successes were few, however, and the hardships and sheer effort of surviving led to discontent and desertions. Between 1970 and 1974, the FSLN struggled to broaden its bases of support by conducting guerrilla operations in the countryside while recruiting new supporters in the cities. Its rural guerrilla tactics were patterned after those of Castro's forces, and FSLN forces were trained in Cuba . For many observers,

15651-475: The name of FLN, there was a lack of internal coherence in political ideas (this can be seen in the publication of the newspaper Trinchera). The first few years were carried by some basic shared values of all the forces that were being integrated. Some of these basic shared ideas was to imitate the success of the Cuban Revolution, the ineffectiveness of the conventional opposition to the Somoza regime and

15792-403: The need to remain independent of them (referring to the from the conservative, liberal and communist parties), the need for a revolutionary movement that would use the armed struggle as opposition to the Somoza dictatorship, and after some discussion, identification with Sandino's struggle. It was not until 1969 that any programmatic document was published. The Sandinista National Liberation Front

15933-437: The newer movement's ideology and strategy. By the early 1970s, the FSLN was launching limited military initiatives. On December 23, 1972, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake leveled the capital city, Managua . The earthquake killed 10,000 of the city's 400,000 residents and left another 50,000 homeless. About 80% of Managua's commercial buildings were destroyed. President Anastasio Somoza Debayle 's National Guard embezzled much of

16074-557: The officers. Six women held the rank of guerrilla commander in the late 1970s. After the Sandinista victory, however, women were gradually shifted to noncombatant roles or to the Sandinista Police. Many women fighters resisted the redeployment, and their role became a national issue. As a compromise, seven all-women reserve battalions were formed, but these were gradually converted into mixed battalions. Women's mobilization continued in other forms. Women constituted 50 percent of

16215-569: The proletariat. Later that October, the Mexican cell was formed with members such as Edén Pastora Gómez , Juan José Ordóñez, Roger Hernández, Porfirio Molina y Pedro José Martínez Alvarado. In October 1958 Ramon Raudales began his guerilla war against the Somoza dynasty beginning the armed conflict. June 1959 the event known as "El Chaparral" occurred in Honduran territory bordering Nicaragua. The guerrilla fighters "Rigoberto López Pérez" under

16356-444: The psychological security necessary for autonomous conscience and liberal ideals to become internalized, an integrated part of the 'new men'… regenerated by Wesleyan preaching." The practice of temperance among Methodists, as well as their rejection of gambling , allowed them to eliminate secondary poverty and accumulate capital. Individuals who attended Methodist chapels and Sunday schools "took into industrial and political life

16497-757: The qualities and talents they had developed within Methodism and used them on behalf of the working classes in non-revolutionary ways." The spread of the Methodist Church in the United Kingdom, author and professor Michael Hill states, "filled both a social and an ideological vacuum" in English society, thus "opening up the channels of social and ideological mobility… which worked against the polarization of English society into rigid social classes." The historian Bernard Semmel argues that "Methodism

16638-417: The regional commands. The new army, known as the EPS, was placed under the command of Humberto Ortega , one of the nine FSLN commanders and brother of José Daniel Ortega Saavedra , the Sandinista junta coordinator. The Sandinistas announced initially that their goal was to build a well-equipped professional military of some 25,000. Their primary missions were to deter attacks led by the United States, prevent

16779-417: The regular army depended at first on voluntary enlistments, but later in 1983 a universal conscription system, known as Patriotic Military Service, was adopted. Males between the ages of seventeen and twenty-six were obligated to perform two years of active service followed by two years of reserve status. Service by women remained voluntary. Mandatory conscription was bitterly resented. Thousands of youths fled

16920-459: The revolution. The war left 30,000–50,000 dead and 150,000 Nicaraguans in exile. The five-member junta entered Managua the next day and assumed power, reiterating its pledge to work for political pluralism, a mixed economic system, and a nonaligned foreign policy. The Sandinistas inherited a country with a debt of US$ 1.6 billion, an estimated 30,000 to 50,000 war dead, 600,000 homeless, and a devastated economic infrastructure. To begin establishing

17061-496: The revolutionaries of Emperor Meiji who sought to modernize Japan with the states of Western Europe as Japan's example. The war ended with a small number of casualties, most of whom were the samurai. Years later though, western samurai and imperial modernists then engaged in the deadlier Satsuma Rebellion . In 1917, during the Warlord Era general Zhang Xun attempted to reverse the 1911 Revolution that brought an end to

17202-536: The revolutionary government of Fidel Castro . In the 1980s, the Contra -Revolución rebels fighting to overthrow the revolutionary Sandinista government in Nicaragua . In fact, the Contras received their name precisely because they were counter-revolutionaries. The Black Eagles , the AUC , and other paramilitary movements of Colombia can also be seen as counter-revolutionary. These right-wing groups are opposition to

17343-604: The rise and spread of Methodism in the United Kingdom prevented the development of a revolution there. In addition to preaching the Christian Gospel, John Wesley and his Methodist followers visited those imprisoned, as well as the poor and aged, building hospitals and dispensaries which provided free healthcare for the masses. The sociologist William H. Swatos stated that "Methodist enthusiasm transformed men, summoning them to assert rational control over their own lives, while providing in its system of mutual discipline

17484-502: The situation was clearly deteriorating, as petty crime mounted and some Sandinistas abused their authority for personal gain. To end the chaotic situation, FSLN combatants were regrouped into a conventional army framework. At its core were 1,300 experienced guerrilla fighters. Most of the remainder were members of the popular militias and others who had played some role in the defeat of Somoza. Cuban military personnel helped to set up basic and more advanced training programs and to advise

17625-534: The size of the BLIs, at 300-400 men. While BLIs were designed to be able to operate independently, the light hunters worked in conjunction with other units, providing anti- ambush protection for more conventional forces. Reportedly, about 23 BLCs were raised including the following: The SPA ground forces included members of the Frontier Guard, the People's Militia (organized into 18 brigades at its height) and

17766-746: The socialist economy and other criminal activities, and punishes and reforms criminals. The term was widely used during the Cultural Revolution , in which thousands of intellectuals and government officials were denounced as "counter-revolutionaries" by the Red Guards . Following the end of the Cultural Revolution, the term was also used against Lin Biao and the Gang of Four . After the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak ’s government as

17907-454: The summer of 1926, fighting broke out. The fighters known as Cristeros fought the government due to its suppression of the Church, jailing and execution of priests, formation of a nationalist schismatic church, state atheism , Socialism, Freemasonry and other harsh anti-Catholic policies. The 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion into Cuba was conducted by counter-revolutionaries who hoped to overthrow

18048-473: The takeover. The guerrillas received US$ 2 million ransom, and had their official communiqué read on the radio and printed in the newspaper La Prensa . Over the next year, the guerrillas got 14 Sandinista prisoners released from jail, and with them were flown to Cuba . One of the released prisoners was Daniel Ortega , who later became president of Nicaragua. The group also lobbied for an increase in wages for National Guard soldiers to 500 córdobas ($ 71 at

18189-630: The time). The Somoza government responded with further censorship , intimidation , torture , and murder . In 1975, Somoza imposed a state of siege, censoring the press, and threatening all opponents with internment and torture. Somoza's National Guard also increased its violence against people and communities suspected of collaborating with the Sandinistas. Many of the FSLN guerrillas were killed, including its leader and founder Carlos Fonseca in 1976. Fonseca had returned to Nicaragua in 1975 from his exile in Cuba to try to reunite factions that existed in

18330-510: The widow of La Prensa ' s director Pedro Joaquín Chamorro . By the end of that month, with the exception of the capital, most of Nicaragua was under FSLN control, including León and Matagalpa , Nicaragua's two largest cities after Managua. On July 9, the provisional government in exile released a government program in which it pledged to organize an effective democratic regime, promote political pluralism and universal suffrage, and ban ideological discrimination, except for those promoting

18471-538: Was active during the Révolution nationale of Vichy France , though, which has been considered by René Rémond not as a fascist regime but as a counter-revolutionary regime, whose motto was Travail, Famille, Patrie ("Work, Family, Fatherland"), which replaced the Republican motto Liberté, égalité, fraternité . After the French Revolution, anti-clerical policies and the execution of King Louis XVI led to

18612-528: Was an antirevolutionary movement that succeeded (to the extent that it did) because it was a revolution of a radically different kind" that was capable of effecting social change on a large scale. In Italy, after being conquered by Napoleon's army in the late 18th century, there was a counter-revolution in all the French client republics . The most well-known was the Sanfedismo , a reactionary movement led by

18753-420: Was based on the "accumulation of forces in silence": while the urban organization recruited on the university campuses and robbed money from banks, the main cadres were to permanently settle in the north central mountain zone. There they would build a grassroots peasant support base in preparation for renewed rural guerrilla warfare . As a consequence of the repressive campaign of the National Guard, in 1975

18894-440: Was doubtful. In 1992 a number of helicopters and six radar units were sold to Peru. A small fleet of helicopters, transports, and utility/training aircraft was retained. The "navy" of Somoza's National Guard consisted of a few old patrol boats . The Sandinistas acquired more modern vessels, although none was larger than fifty tons. The navy's mission was to discourage seaborne Contra attacks and to deter CIA -run operations such as

19035-474: Was lifted. Under the new "Law for the Maintenance of Order and Public Security" the "Tribunales Populares Anti-Somocistas" allowed for the indefinite holding of suspected counter-revolutionaries without trial. The State of Emergency, however, most notably affected rights and guarantees contained in the "Statute on Rights and Guarantees of Nicaraguans". Many civil liberties were curtailed or canceled such as

19176-546: Was named chief of staff, serving Defense Minister Humberto Ortega . A draft, called the Patriotic Military Service ( Servicio Militar Patriótico ), (SMP) was instituted in 1983. It later became Obligatory Military Service (Servicio Militar Obligatorio) (SMO). The special forces Tropas Pablo Ubeda initially came under the Ministry of Interior and then the BLI'S were Created. The SPA's ground forces formed

19317-550: Was supposedly founded in a meeting in Tegucigalpa (Honduras) between Carlos Fonseca, Tomás Borge, and Silvio Mayorga. It's even been said that the meeting was held on July 19, 1961. In reality, there is no documentary reference that supports this affirmation, with the first news of this meeting and date surfacing after the revolutionary triumph of 1979. The term "Sandinista" was adopted two years later, establishing continuity with Sandino's movement, and using his legacy to develop

19458-420: Was that the party had several leftist revolutionary influences in its ideology left over from the party's beginnings. The Kuomintang, and Chiang Kai-shek used the words " feudal " and "counter-revolutionary" as synonyms for evil, and backwardness, and proudly proclaimed themselves to be revolutionary . Chiang called the warlords feudalists, and called for feudalism and counter-revolutionaries to be stamped out by

19599-526: Was the first act of a series that Somoza, with help from the U.S., would take that would culminate in his election as president in 1936. The result of his election was the start of the U.S. sponsored dictatorship of the Somoza family. During the 1960s, leftist ideas began spreading worldwide, sparking independence movements in different colonial territories. On 1 January 1959 in Havana , Cuban revolutionaries fought against dictator Fulgencio Batista . In Algeria

19740-470: Was to create a literate electorate that could make informed choices in the promised elections. The success of the literacy campaign was recognized by UNESCO with a Nadezhda Krupskaya International Prize , although the actual success of this literary campaign, and its long-term impact, have been called into question. The FSLN also created neighborhood groups similar to the Cuban Committees for

19881-538: Was ultimately betrayed by the Treaty of Schönbrunn , which led to the disbandment of his troops and was captured and executed in 1810. The Spanish Civil War was a counter-revolution. Supporters of Carlism , monarchy, and nationalism (see Falange ) joined forces against the (Second) Spanish Republic in 1936. The counter-revolutionaries saw the Spanish Constitution of 1931 as a revolutionary document that defied Spanish culture, tradition and religion. On

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