Anastasio Somoza García

The couple also had a daughter, Lillian Somoza Debayle de Sevilla Sacasa. Anastasio had a son, Jose R. Somoza, born to an unknown mother.

On September 21, 1956, a poet shot Somoza in the city of Leon. Eight days later, the authoritarian leader died from his injuries. His family went on to rule the country for the next two decades.

Anastasio Somoza Garcia aka Tacho was born on February 1, 1896 in San Marcos, Nicaragua. His father, Anastasio Somoza Reyes, was a coffee planter. His mother was named Julia Garcia.

When Anastasio was a teenager, he moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. While studying in the United States, he met his future wife, Salvadora Debayle Sacasa, also a Nicaraguan exile.

In 1926, Somoza joined an armed rebellion seeking to install his uncle as president of Nicaragua. Although the rebellion failed, the young man gained valuable experience as an interpreter working with negotiators from the United States.

In 1929, Jose Maria Moncada became president of Nicaragua. The spirited youth was tapped to be the governor of the province of Leon, the consul of Nicaragua in neighboring Costa Rica, and simultaneously also the Foreign Minister of Nicaragua.

In 1933, Somoza's uncle, Juan Bautista Sacasa, was elected president. Somoza was appointed as the head of the National Guard.

On February 21, 1934, he violated peace talks by having a rebel general assassinated.

In 1935, he ordered the National Guard to massacre several supporters of the assassinated rebel general and appropriate their land.

Anastasio Somoza Garcia was officially the president of Nicaragua twice, from January 1, 1937 to May 1, 1947, and from May 21, 1950 to September 29, 1956.