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Fighting Continues …

9 JULY 1979 — Fighting between the Sandinista National Liberation Front and members of the Nicaraguan National Guard by this time has touched virtually every corner of the Central American nation, with the exception of the Atlantic Coast.

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The Final Days

8 JULY 1979 — A Sandinista fighter exudes confidence as he rides in the back of a pickup truck through the streets of the city of Esteli. The scene of ferocious fighting, the city at this point is largely controlled by the rebels. Much of the northern sector of Nicaragua also is under Sandinista control […]

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“… a Wounded Whale”

8 JULY 1979 — Unlike the September 1978 insurrection that briefly rocked the country, the 1979 Final Offensive was an all-or-nothing slugfest, and most Nicaraguans seemed to understand this. The Sandinistas poured everything they had into steering, and staying ahead of, the popular insurrection to topple the Somoza regime. And the regime fought back with […]

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To Serve and To Protect?

8 JULY 1979 — Thirty years ago, this image impressed upon me the profound disconnect between what a country’s armed forces contended to be and what they actually were. Three decades after I made this picture, that impression is the same. What is most sad about this image, I think, is that the National Guard […]

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Losing Hearts and Minds

7 JULY 1970 — It was clear to most observers at this point in the conflict that the Somoza regime had lost the hearts and minds of the Nicaraguan population. Somoza’s National Guard had become an occupying force in its own land, and most ordinary Nicaraguans regarded its members with profound fear and loathing. And […]

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National Guard Moves to Re-Take Masaya

7 JULY 1979 — National Guardsmen sweep the village of Nindiri as part of their push to re-take the nearby city of Masaya. The look of exhaustion and apprehension on the young guardsman pictured above reflects the cumulative toll that weeks of fighting are exacting from us all. The image making and storytelling skills I […]

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