Word: matagalpa
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...five fearful and defiant days, the city of Matagalpa had stood proud: a rebellious stronghold against the mechanized might of Nicaragua's National Guard and its detested dictator, Anastasio Somoza. The sudden and apparently spontaneous uprising by the townspeople did not succeed in bringing down the regime. But the fact that it had occurred at all was symptomatic of the troubles facing Somoza's government. Following on the audacious capture the week before of Managua's National Palace, after which members of the leftist Sandinista National Liberation Front won the release of 59 political prisoners and received...
...National Guard's conquest of Matagalpa climaxed the second week of a drive by opponents of the regime to force the resignation of Somoza, 52, whose family has ruled Nicaragua since 1933. Somoza's monopoly of much of the country's industry and business and the National Guard's brutalization of the rural population have served to unite the opposition, which now ranges from the extreme left to extreme right. After the Sandinista assault on the palace, the Broad Opposition Front, a coalition of political and business groups, called a general strike to last until Somoza...
...Matagalpa (pop. 61,000) a thriving coffee-and cattle-farming center in the mountains 80 miles north of Managua, youths immediately covered some of the streets with broken glass to ensure compliance with the strike. The young rebels, mostly teenagers, then went around accumulating-by force, in some cases-small arms, rifles and shotguns from residents of the city. By Sunday morning, Aug. 27, los muchachos (the boys) had enough firepower to start what they described as the "people's war against the Somoza regime...
...National Guard quickly moved in reinforcements. On Tuesday afternoon, without warning, it launched a three-hour aerial attack, concentrating on the poor barrios in the hills around the city. Visiting Matagalpa shortly after the attack, TIME Mexico City Bureau Chief Bernard Diederich found the hospitals filled with wounded. At least 17 people were dead. Many residents had fled the city, but those who remained were defiant. "We know they are going to bomb us again," said an elderly woman. "It shows what a barbaric regime we are living under...
During the week Liberal troops took Jinotega (near Matagalpa) from Conservative forces which quietly withdrew without offering battle...