President Anastasio Somoza Debayle resigned and fled Nicaragua as Sandinista forces neared victory, creating a power vacuum that the FSLN and its allies moved quickly to fill.
FSLN forces entered Managua, marking the collapse of the Somoza regime. The Sandinista-led revolutionary government began governing through the Junta of National Reconstruction, launching the 1979–1990 Sandinista period.
The Sandinista government launched the National Literacy Crusade (Cruzada Nacional de Alfabetización), mobilizing tens of thousands of volunteer instructors to reduce illiteracy nationwide; the campaign became a signature early social program of the revolution.
Daniel Ortega, as coordinator of the governing junta, announced a new Agrarian Reform Law, formalizing land redistribution policies that were central to Sandinista social and economic restructuring.
The Sandinista-led junta imposed a state of siege (state of emergency), suspending constitutional guarantees as armed conflict intensified and the government cited threats linked to Contra activity and U.S. pressure.
Nicaragua submitted an application to the International Court of Justice alleging U.S. responsibility for military and paramilitary activities against Nicaragua, internationalizing the conflict and setting up a landmark judgment on use of force and non-intervention.
Nicaragua held general elections for president and a national assembly. Daniel Ortega and Sergio Ramírez won the presidency/vice presidency; the elections became a major point of international dispute over legitimacy during the Cold War.
Daniel Ortega took office as president following the 1984 election, and the National Assembly began meeting soon after, marking the shift from the revolutionary junta structure toward constitutional governance under Sandinista leadership.
U.S. President Ronald Reagan signed Executive Order 12513, prohibiting most trade with Nicaragua and declaring a national emergency; the embargo deepened Nicaragua’s economic crisis during the Contra war.
The International Court of Justice issued its merits judgment in Military and Paramilitary Activities in and against Nicaragua, finding the United States in breach of obligations relating to the use of force and non-intervention and ordering cessation and reparations.
Regional leaders (including Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega) signed the Esquipulas II Accord, committing to national reconciliation steps, democratization measures, and a timetable toward ending regional insurgencies, with international verification mechanisms.
The Sandinista government and the Contras reached a ceasefire accord at Sapoá, creating truce terms and concentration zones—an important step toward reducing armed conflict ahead of the 1990 elections.
Nicaragua held elections monitored by large international observer missions. The National Opposition Union (UNO), led by Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, defeated the FSLN, signaling voter demand for peace and economic change and ending Sandinista electoral dominance.
Violeta Barrios de Chamorro was sworn in as president, completing a peaceful transfer of power and formally ending the 1979–1990 period of Sandinista-led national government (though the FSLN remained a major political force).
Sandinista National Liberation Front government in Nicaragua (1979–1990)
