Sandinistas Capture National Palace (1978)

Tue Aug 22, 1978

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On this day in 1978, the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) staged a massive kidnapping operation where they captured the National Palace and held more than 1,000 people hostage in exchange for money, the release of political prisoners, and the ability to publicize their cause.

In the 1970s, Nicaragua was rocked by political turmoil, with widespread riots and multiple anti-government general strikes, occurring in 1978. A revolutionary campaign to overthrow the government by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) was also underway. Despite these efforts, the leader of Nicaragua, Anastasio Somoza, remained in power.

On August 22nd, 1978, with just 26 participants, the FSLN staged a massive kidnapping operation where they captured the National Palace.

Many of the rebels were quite young - Columbian socialist author Gabriel García Márquez wrote that, excluding the experienced guerilla leader Éden Pastora, the average age of the group was twenty. Three were just eighteen years old.

Led by Pastora, the Sandinistan forces captured the Palace while the legislature was in session, taking more than 1,000 hostages. The rebels demanded money, the release of Sandinistan prisoners, and, “a means of publicizing the Sandinista cause”.

After two days, the government agreed to pay $500,000 and release certain prisoners, marking a major victory for the FSLN. Somoza was finally ousted by the FSLN in 1979.