Joaquín Cuadra

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Joaquín Cuadra Lacayo, a scion of Nicaragua's elite, joined the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in late 1972, going underground early the next year.^[1] He was a member of the Sandinista band that raided the Christmas party of a major Somoza supporter in 1974, exchanging imprisoned Sandinistas for the prominent guests. As the FSLN divided over questions of strategy, he aligned himself with the Tercerista faction. In 1977, he recruited his father to politically support the FSLN as one of Los Doce.^[2] As leader of the Sandinista Internal Front, he helped support Eden Pastora's capture of the National Palace in August 1978,^[3] and coordinated urban guerilla actions during the 1979 Nicaraguan Revolution. After the victory he was promoted to General and chief of staff of the new Sandinista Popular Army. He assumed leadership of the Nicaraguan army from the hands of Humberto Ortega in February 1995. After retiring from the army, he founded the National Unity Movement in 2000, which is aligned with the Sandinista Renovation Movement.