Nicaragua 2

NICARAGUA Nicaragua is a country located in Central America, south of Honduras and North of Costa Rica. Its region is about 130,000 square kilometers (about 50,193-sq. mi.). The largest city, which is the capital, is Managua. In the west of this great country is a great basin retaining Lake Nicaragua, the largest lake in Central America, and Lake Managua. In the east, the Caribbean coastal plain known as the Mosquito Coast is to some extent overgrown …

…early 1800s, and the country declared itself free from Spain in 1821. Adolofo Diaz was elected temporary president in 1909 and requested military assistance from the United States, beginning decades of US involvement in Nicaragua. US marines were withdrawn in 1933, leaving Anastasio Somoza as head of the National Guard. He soon took authority of the country. In 1956, pursuing a twenty-three dictatorship, Somoza was assassinated; his family, however, continued to control the country over the next twenty years.