Nicaragua is attempting to recover from the effects of a dictatorship, civil war, and natural disasters that have made it one of the most impoverished nations in the Western Hemisphere.
Currently, it is also battling the conflict brought on by its location along the route used to transport drugs to the United States.
Up until the Sandinista revolution in 1979, the Somoza family ruled the nation with support from the US.
The Sandinistas started redistributing property and made significant strides in the areas of health and education, but the US launched an embargo campaign and engaged in armed subversion against their authoritarian Soviet-backed government.
1990 saw free elections that saw them lose power, but 2006 saw them retake it under the able leadership of Daniel Ortega. His administration has been charged with using political violence, corruption, and election rigging as a means of maintaining power.
Daniel Ortega is in charge.
After leading Nicaragua through a revolution and a civil war before being ousted in elections in 1990, left-wing Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega made a political comeback in November 2006.
But since then, his rule has been characterized by a return to authoritarian practices, such as the violent repression of large-scale protests against pension reforms in 2018.
The primary news media are radio and television. In addition to numerous TV networks, there are more than 100 radio stations.
Journalists, according to media freedom organization Reporters Without Borders, experience intimidation, arbitrary detention, and even death threats.
Several significant dates in Nicaraguan history are:.
1838 . - Nicaragua achieves total independence. The majority of the 19th century was occupied by bloody power struggles in the country between the Liberal and Conservative factions.
1860 . - Nicaragua gains control of Nicaragua's Caribbean coast from the British.
1909 . - The US backs a coup by conservative forces in Nicaragua, beginning a protracted period of US occupations and interventions in that country.
1927 . - National hero Cesar Augusto Sandino launches an uprising against the US occupiers and their Nicaraguan allies.
1934 . Sandino compels the US marines to leave. Assassins kill Sandino. The National Guard is led by Anastasio Somoza Garcia, who establishes the Somoza family dynasty. Up until 1979, Nicaragua was ruled by Somoza and his sons Luis and Anastasio Jr.
1978 . - The murder of opposition figure Pedro Joaquin Chamorro leads to a general strike and unites moderates and the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in their fight to overthrow Somoza.
1979 . - Somoza is overthrown following the Sandanista military offensive. Under the leadership of Daniel Ortega, the Sandinistas form a national reconstruction government. Due to the Sandinista leadership's left-wing stance, the Contras, an anti-Sandinista rebel group, were created.
1984 . Daniel Ortega is chosen to serve as president. The armed conflict is intensified by the US government's support of the Contras with weapons and funding.
1990 . - Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, who spearheaded the anti-Sandinista coalition that defeated Daniel Ortega, wins the presidential election. She sets up a national reconciliation government, which results in the end of the war and a slow but steady recovery of the economy.
2006 . Election results bring Daniel Ortega back to power.
2018 . - Violent methods are used to quell anti-government demonstrations.
