Overthrow of Somoza in Nicaragua

Date: July 19, 1979 • Location: Río Blanco, Nicaragua

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1979.

The Sandinista rebels overthrow the government of the Somoza family in Nicaragua.

The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who, in the 1930s, led the resistance against the country's occupation by the United States.