Sandino, Augusto César, << sahn DEE noh, ow GOOS toh SAY sahr >> (1895-1934), was a Nicaraguan revolutionary. Sandino led a guerrilla struggle from 1927 to 1933 against the occupation of his country by United States Marines. The Sandinista National Liberation Front, which ruled Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, was named for Sandino.
Sandino was born in Niquinohomo, Nicaragua. In 1926, U.S. Marines invaded Nicaragua to stop a rebellion by Nicaragua’s Liberal Party against the country’s conservative government. Sandino fought for the Liberals. In 1927, Liberal leaders reached a settlement with the United States. But Sandino was angered by the agreement and began fighting a guerrilla war to expel the Marines from Nicaragua. Sandino’s forces, which consisted of hundreds of peasants and miners, effectively fought and eluded the Marines and the Nicaraguan National Guard. The Marines withdrew from Nicaragua in 1933. On Feb. 21, 1934, Sandino was assassinated at the order of General Anastasio Somoza García, head of the National Guard. Somoza later became dictator of Nicaragua.
