Juan Bautista Sacasa

Who was Juan Bautista Sacasa?

Juan Bautista Sacasa Sacasa was the President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1933 to 9 June 1936. He was the eldest son of Roberto Sacasa, 44th and 46th President of Nicaragua, and wife and cousin Ángela Sacasa Cuadra. He was a relative of Benjamín Sacasa, 67th President of Nicaragua.

Born in the town of León, Sacasa studied in the United States from 1889 to 1901, earning an M.D. from Columbia University. He served as a professor and dean of faculty at the National University in León, and was a supporter of the Liberal regime of José Santos Zelaya. In 1924, Sacasa became a member of a political coalition headed by moderate Conservative Carlos Solórzano. Shortly afterwards, the detachment of U.S. Marines which had remained in Nicaragua for thirteen years withdrew, believing that the political situation was stable. In October 1925, the government of Solórzano was overthrown in a coup by former President General Emiliano Chamorro, who failed to gain U.S. recognition and subsequently resigned in favor of Adolfo Díaz. In the meantime, Sacasa fled to Mexico.

Following an uprising by Liberal soldiers in Puerto Cabezas, on the Caribbean coast, Sacasa returned to Nicaragua in 1926. Asserting his claim as constitutional president, he established a government in Puerto Cabezas. Supplied by Mexico with arms and munitions, the Liberal rebels, under the command of General José María Moncada, nearly succeeded in capturing Managua. However, the U.S. forced the two warring parties to enter into negotiations, resulting in the Pact of Espino Negro, which required that both sides would disarm and Díaz would be allowed to finish his term. Sacasa reluctantly agreed to accept the agreement and withdraw his claim to the presidency, but refused to sign the pact and left the country; leaving Moncada to sign the pact on Sacasa's behalf. Over the next six years, a formerly obscure Liberal general named Augusto Sandino would lead a guerilla war against the U.S. Marines, who had remained in the country to enforce the agreement.