During the height of the rainy season, the Marines embarked on several river patrols up the Coco River, using native dugout canoes to limit the movements of Sandino’s forces. Although they managed to gain some control over the principal river of northern Nicaragua, their ultimate objective of capturing Sandino remained elusive. In April 1928, when the Marines believed Sandino to be finished and on the run, his army ambushed a Marine post, resulting in the death of five troops.
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In an attempt to bring an end to Sandino’s resistance, the Marines located his mother and persuaded her to write a letter urging him to surrender. However, Sandino made it clear that he would continue fighting until the U.S. Marines left Nicaragua.
Sandino’s challenge to the U.S. intervention in Nicaragua defied the assumption held by many Americans then and now that they have the right to intervene in other countries to protect their business and political interests. He proclaimed, “Come to kill us in our own land, and I will await you standing strong at the head of my patriotic soldiers, not caring about how many of you there are; bear in mind that when this happens, the destruction of your greatness will shake the Capitol in Washington, with your blood reddening the white sphere crowning your famous White House, the cavern where you plot your crimes.”
Sandinista poster from the 1980s using Sandino’s image and words. Compare the gun in his hands to the photo above from which it is cropped.
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Despite the extensive efforts of the American forces, Sandino eluded capture. His messages were regularly published in American media. For example, TIME Magazine frequently quoted him during the Marines’ offensive in 1928. He even staged a fake funeral to mislead his pursuers. However, the U.S. Congress did not share President Coolidge’s determination to capture Sandino and declined to allocate additional funds for that purpose. Senator Burton K. Wheeler from Montana, opposing the idea of sacrificing American lives for Nicaraguans, famously argued, “I wouldn’t sacrifice… one American boy for all the damn Nicaraguans.”
The New York Times, January 1928.
The United States Marines and the Guardia launched a counter-insurgency war against Sandino’s forces. Although Sandino organized a nationalist resistance, U.S. policymakers labeled him and his soldiers as bandits. This classification influenced the military tactics used. Since they viewed Sandino’s forces as illegitimate, the Marines and Guardia felt exempt from the rules of war. They showed no distinction between combatants and civilians, subjecting both to excessive force and torture. Beatings, often using fists and feet, were the most common form of torture. Water torture, in which water was forced down a prisoner’s throat until they choked, was also occasionally employed. Tragically, peasant women were subjected to rape, and psychological torture involved constant threats of beatings and executions, including decapitation. Shockingly, photographs of Marines and Guardia soldiers holding the severed heads of killed Sandinistas were published throughout Nicaragua and Latin America.
In the face of such brutality, Sandino’s defiance against intervention remains an enduring symbol of resistance and national pride for Nicaragua. His fight against foreign intervention and his determination to protect his homeland cemented his status as a national hero.
Source: https://t-tees.com
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