Quotes from Bernard Diederich

Somoza admitted that he had issued the order to have Sandino murdered after receiving the approval of the American minister. The minister hotly denied any involvement in the plot and and the State department issued a statement disclaiming any part in Sandino's death.

American dominance of Nicaraguan politics finally led Sandino to an explicit rejection of American imperialism and his historic struggle became a working model for guerrilla action by worldwide revolutionary movements for the next fifty years. It also marked the first time American intervention experienced defeat in Latin America.

Sandino proved to the world that a people's army could resist every effort of the most modern military machine.