Augusto Sandino (1895 - 1934)
Wed Feb 21, 1934
Augusto C. Sandino, assassinated on this day in 1934, was a Nicaraguan revolutionary and leader of a rebellion between 1927 and 1933 against the U.S. military occupation of Nicaragua.
Although derisively called a "bandit" by the U.S. government, Sandino's guerilla style warfare against U.S. forces made him a hero throughout much of Latin America, where he became a symbol of resistance to U.S. imperialism.
On this day in 1934, Sandino attended a round of talks with Sacasa, the Nicaraguan President. On leaving Sacasa's Presidential Palace, Sandino and five others were stopped in their car at the main gate by local National Guardsmen and were ordered to leave their car.
On orders from National Guard leader Anastasio Somoza García, these men took Sandino, his brother Socrates, and his two generals to a crossroads section in Larreynaga and summarily executed them.
Sandino has been cited as an influence by many Latin American revolutionaries and organizations, including Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chávez, the Nicaraguan Sandinista National Liberation Front, and the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) in El Salvador.
"Come, morphine addicts, come and kill us in our own land. I await you before my patriotic soldiers, feet firmly set, not worried about how many of you there may be. But keep in mind that when this happens the Capitol Building in Washington will shake with the destruction of your greatness, and our blood will redden the white doom of your famous White House, the cavern where you concoct your crimes."
- August Sandino
- Date: 1934-02-21
- Learn More: jacobin.com, en.wikipedia.org, s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com.
- Tags: #Assassinations.
- Source: www.apeoplescalendar.org