Humberto Ortega

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General Humberto Ortega Saavedra is a Nicaraguan military leader and leading Latin American revolutionary strategist.

Humberto Ortega and his brother Daniel founded the Tercerista tendency of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in 1975. He crafted the urban insurrection strategy that ignited civil war in Nicaragua in October 1977, leading to the fall of the Somoza dynastic dictatorship in July 1979. As Minister of Defense during the decade of Sandinista rule, Ortega oversaw the build up of the Sandinista Popular Army (EPS) and the prosecution of the war against the "contra" resistance factions and their peasant support base.

Following the electoral defeat of Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista Party in 1990, Humberto maintained control of the military. He retired in 1995, turning the job over to his protege, [[Joaquín Cuadra]. General Humberto Ortega transformed the EPS into the non-political Nicaraguan National Army.

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