Anastasio Somoza García

Anastasio Somoza García was a Nicaraguan officer and dictator who, as director of the US-trained National Guard, had Augusto César Sandino murdered in 1934 and became president in 1937. He ruled Nicaragua directly or through puppet presidents until he was shot by the poet Rigoberto López Pérez in León in September 1956. He founded a family dynasty, continued by his sons Luis and Anastasio Somoza Debayle, that lasted until 1979.