United States occupation of Nicaragua

The United States occupation of Nicaragua was part of the larger conflict known as the Banana Wars. The formal occupation began in 1912, although several other operations were conducted before the full scale invasion. United States military interventions in Nicaragua were intended to prevent the construction of the Nicaraguan Canal by any nation but the United States. Nicaragua assumed a quasi-protectorate status under the 1916 Chamorro-Bryan Treaty. The occupation ended as Augusto César Sandino, a Nicaraguan revolutionary, led guerrilla armies against U.S. troops. The onset of the Great Depression made it costly for the U.S. government to maintain the occupation so a withdrawal was ordered in 1933.

Occupation

In 1909, the liberal Nicaraguan president José Santos Zelaya faced a rebellion led by the conservative governor of the eastern municipality of Bluefields, Juan José Estrada. Although militarily unsuccessful, Estrada’s rebellion gained the support of the United States after Zelaya's men captured and executed two American mercenaries. Prior to this event, the U.S. had limited its military presence to one patrolling U.S. Navy ship off the coast of Bluefields, in order to protect the lives and interests of its citizens in the area. These Americans were economically supporting Estrada’s rebellion. On May 27, 1910, U.S. Marine Corps Major Smedley Butler arrived on the coast of Nicaragua with 250 marines, for the purpose of to providing security in Bluefields. United States Secretary of State Philander C. Knox condemned Zelaya's actions, favoring Estrada. Zelaya succumbed to U.S. political pressure and fled the country, leaving José Madriz as his successor. Madriz in turn had to face an advance by the reinvigorated eastern rebel forces, which ultimately led to his resignation. In August 1910, Juan Estrada became president of Nicaragua with the official recognition of the United States.^[1]

Estrada’s administration allowed President William Howard Taft and Secretary of State Philander C. Knox to apply the Dollar Diplomacy or "dollars for bullets" policy. The goal was to undermine European financial strength in the region, which threatened American interests to construct a canal in the isthmus, and also to protect American private investment in the development of Nicaragua's natural resources. The policy opened the door for American banks to lend money to the Nicaraguan government, ensuring United States control over the country's finances. This close relationship between the two governments continued with Estrada’s successor Adolfo Díaz.^[2]

Díaz’s connection with the United States led to a decline in his popularity in Nicaragua. Nationalistic sentiments arose in the Nicaraguan military, including Luis Mena, the Secretary of War. Mena managed to gain the support of the National Assembly, accusing Díaz of “selling out the nation to New York bankers.” Díaz asked the U.S. government for help, as Mena’s opposition turned into rebellion. Knox appealed to president Taft for military intervention, arguing that the Nicaraguan railway from Corinto to Granada was threatened, interfering with US interests.^[3]

In the summer of 1912, 100 U.S. Marines arrived aboard the USS Annapolis. They were followed by Smedley Butler’s return from Panama with 350 Marines. The commander of the American forces was Admiral William Henry Hudson Southerland, joined by Colonel Joseph Henry Pendleton and 750 marines. The main goal was securing the railroad from Corinto to Managua. Butler, with around 100 men, took control of the León tract. He encountered fierce opposition from General Benjamín Zeledón, Mena's chief Lieutenant, and the region’s population, whose animosity had been inflamed by anti-American rhetoric. Butler and his men survived and cleared the tracks up to Managua. On September 22, Mena surrendered and left the country. General Zeledón, on the other hand, refused to surrender, holding Coyotepe and Barranca. Under the command of Pendleton, Butler began the attack on Coyotepe Hill on October 2. After hitting with heavy artillery, a combined force between Butler’s men and 600 of Pendleton’s marines took control of the hill, killing twenty-seven Nicaraguans. Zeledón was ultimately defeated in Masaya, where the Nicaraguan Army and the American Marines neutralized the rebels.^[4]

Of the 1,100 members of the United States military that intervened in Nicaragua, thirty-seven were killed in action. With Díaz safely in the presidency of the country, the United States proceeded to withdraw the majority of its forces from Nicaraguan territory, leaving one hundred marines to "protect the American legation in Managua." The American presence in Nicaragua enforced its peace for about fifteen years, guaranteeing United States influence in the country's politics and economy.^[3]

The only American journalist who interviewed Sandino during this occupation was Carleton Beals of The Nation.^[5]

See also

• United States-Latin American relations
• History of Nicaragua
• Overseas interventions of the United States
• American imperialism

Notes

References

• Nicaragua 8 1850-1868
• Nicaragua 10 1909-1933
• Sandino rebellion 1927-1934