18 JULY 1979 — With President Anastasio Somoza Debayle having fled Nicaragua just ahead of a tidal wave of violent opposition, his supporters still in the country jockeyed for power. The Sandinistas called any alternative to their rule “Somocismo without Somoza,” and rejected it as “unacceptable.” Above, Sandinistas and their supporters marched victoriously and defiantly […]
16 JULY 1979 — By this time just about everybody knew it was almost over. Such an extraordinary experience. To witness and document a corrupt, brutal government being overthrown by the collective will of its people. The only question at this point was how many more Nicaraguans would have to suffer or die before Somoza […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]