vania Oil Company in
Tampico, Mexico. It was
there he was first ex-
posed to communist ide-
ology, although there is
no proof he actually em-
braced it. In addition,
Sandino’s train of thought
continued absorbing vari-
ous facets of socialism,
anarchism, and—most
curious of all—spiritual-
ism. While abroad he
spent many years trying
to understand and ex-
plain human relation-
ships with higher author-
ity, often in complex and
seemingly contradictory
terms. By the time San-
dino returned to Nicara-
gua in 1926, he embraced
a complex and confusing
mélange of religion and
social reform. However, a strident national-
ism also began to surface, and it is for this
that he is best remembered.
Nicaragua was then experiencing political
turmoil originating in a power dispute be-
tween the Liberal and Conservative parties.
At the urging of the United States, Liberal
President Emiliano Chamorro Vargas surren-
dered his office to the Conservative candidate
Adolfo Diaz. The Liberals, meanwhile, estab-
lished a provisional government in Puerto
Cabezas under opposition leader Jose Maria
Moncada. Sandino, who was a follower of
Moncada, urged that leader to confront the
Conservatives by force to regain the presi-
dency. Tensions and fighting increased by Jan-
uary 1927, until U.S. President Calvin
Coolidge landed U.S. Marines at Cortino to
protect American property and citizens. In a
huff, Sandino marched off to San Juan del
Norte to recruit his own army. The Americans
then arranged a truce between Moncada and
Diaz, which allowed the latter to remain in of-
fice until the 1928 election. This arrangement
pleased everyone but
Sandino. Despite re-
peated pleas from Mon-
cada and the Liberals to
disarm, he refused. San-
dino was determined to
carry on a personal war
against U.S. Marines in
Nicaragua—and the in-
tervention they repre-
sented. Furthermore, he
swore he would not nego-
tiate with the government
until the last of the for-
eigners had left Nicara-
guan soil.
In September 1927,
Sandino chartered the
Defending Army of the
National Sovereignty of
Nicaragua, which, de-
spite its impressive title,
remained more or less a
small band of disen-
chanted guerrillas. However, Sandino meant
business. On July 16, 1927, his forces attacked
a mixed force of 39 Marines, under Capt.
Gilbert D. Hatfield, and 50 Nicaraguan Na-
tional Guardsmen at Ocotal. Although greatly
outnumbering their quarry, the guerrillas suf-
fered heavy losses while rushing the town and
at length traded fire at a distance. That after-
noon the defenders received timely relief in
the form of a five-plane flight of Marine Corps
Curtiss OC Falconsunder Maj. Ross E. Row-
ell. These aircraft tore into Sandino’s forces,
performing the world’s first dive-bombing
missions, followed up by low-level strafing.
The new infusion of firepower proved too
much for Sandino, and he ordered a retreat,
having lost upward of 50 men. Thereafter, the
Nicaraguan leader studiously avoided head-
on engagements in favor of classic hit-and-run
guerrilla tactics. In time his activities con-
sumed the energies of more than 5,000
Marines and sailors dispatched to find him.
Over the next few months, the Marines and
National Guard were unsuccessful in trying toSANDINO, AUGUSTO
Augusto Sandino
UPI/Bettmann/Corbis-Bettmann