Juan Bautista Sacasa (21 December 1874 in

León, Nicaragua León () is the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. Founded by the Spanish as Santiago de los Caballeros de León, it is the capital and largest city of León Department. , the municipality of León has an estimated population of 2 ...

– 17 April 1946 in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

) was the

President of Nicaragua The president of Nicaragua ( es, Presidente de Nicaragua), officially known as the president of the Republic of Nicaragua ( es, Presidente de la República de Nicaragua), is the head of state and head of government of Nicaragua. The office was ...

from 1 January 1933 to 9 June 1936. He was the eldest son of Roberto Sacasa and Ángela Sacasa Cuadra, the former's cousin twice removed. He was a relative of Benjamín Sacasa. Born in the town of León, Sacasa studied in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

from 1889 to 1901, earning an M.D. from

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. 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, Solórzano's government was overthrown by former President General Emiliano Chamorro, who failed to gain U.S. recognition and subsequently resigned in favor of

Adolfo Díaz Adolfo Díaz Recinos (15 July 1875 in Alajuela, Costa Rica – 29 January 1964 in San José, Costa Rica) served as the President of Nicaragua between 9 May 1911 and 1 January 1917 and again between 14 November 1926 and 1 January 1929. Born in C ...

. In the meantime, Sacasa fled to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

. Following an uprising by Liberal soldiers in

Puerto Cabezas Puerto Cabezas (; en, Bragman's Bluff; miq, Bilwi) is a municipality and city in Nicaragua. It is the capital of Miskito nation in the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region. The municipality and the entire region are native American lands. ...

, Sacasa returned to Nicaragua in 1926. Asserting his claim as constitutional president, he established a government in

. Supplied by Mexico with arms and munitions, the Liberal rebels, under the command of General José María Moncada, nearly succeeded in capturing

Managua ) , settlement_type = Capital city , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Nicar ...

. However, the U.S. forced the two warring parties to enter into negotiations, resulting in the

Pact of Espino Negro Pact of Espino Negro (1927) was an agreement developed by the United States to resolve the 1926–1927 civil war in Nicaragua. Background In 1924, moderate conservative Carlos Solórzano was elected president of Nicaragua. Juan Bautista Sacasa ...

, 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 Augusto is an Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish given name or surname. Notable people with the name include: * Augusto Aníbal *Augusto dos Anjos * Augusto Arbizo *Augusto Barbera (born 1938), Italian law professor, politician and judge *Augusto B ...

would lead a guerilla war against the Marines, who had remained in the country to enforce the agreement. In 1932, Sacasa was elected president. He took office on January 1, 1933, the day before the scheduled departure of the Marines. At the insistence of the U.S. Ambassador, he named

Anastasio Somoza García Anastasio Somoza García (1 February 1896 – 29 September 1956) was the leader of Nicaragua from 1937 until his assassination in 1956. He was only officially the 21st President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1937 to 1 May 1947 and from 21 May 195 ...

, who was married to one of his nieces, as director of the ''Guardia Nacional'' (National Guard). The following month, Sacasa met with Sandino, during which Sandino pledged his loyalty to the new government in exchange for amnesty and land for his followers. Sandino continued to call for the disbanding of the National Guard and, in February 1934, he was assassinated under orders from Somoza. Despite Sacasa's disapproval, he proved unable to contain the growing power of Somoza and the National Guard. His popularity continued to diminish as Nicaragua's fragile economy suffered the collapse of coffee prices due to the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and allegations of widespread fraud surfaced in the 1934 congressional elections. Meanwhile, Somoza's power continued to grow, and he cultivated ties with former presidents Moncada and

Chamorro Chamorro may refer to: * Chamorro people, the indigenous people of the Mariana Islands in the Western Pacific * Chamorro language, an Austronesian language indigenous to The Marianas * Chamorro Time Zone, the time zone of Guam and the Northern Mari ...

. Early in 1936, Somoza used the National Guard to purge local officials loyal to the president and replace them with his associates. On June 9, he forced Sacasa to resign, appointing a puppet president before assuming the presidency himself the following year. Afterwards, Sacasa fled into exile in the U.S., living in

until his death ten years later. He married María Argüello Manning, a cousin of Leonardo Argüello, 66th President of Nicaragua; together, they had the following children: *Maruca Sacasa Argüello *Carlos Sacasa Arguello *Roberto Sacasa Arguello *Gloria Sacasa Arguello Juan Bautista Sacaza was the first cousin of Bertha Lacayo Sacaza. Bertha Lacayo Sacasa was married to Lisimaco Lacayo Solorzano and they had only two children Chester Lacayo Lacayo and Will Lacayo Lacayo. Will Lacayo Lacayo had four children Danilo Lacayo, Bertha Lacayo, Ligia Lacayo and Tania Lacayo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sacasa, Juan Bautista 1874 births 1946 deaths People from León, Nicaragua Nicaraguan people of Spanish descent Liberal Party (Nicaragua) politicians Presidents of Nicaragua Vice presidents of Nicaragua Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons alumni People of the Banana Wars