''El Grupo de los Doce'', or Group of Twelve, were a dozen members of the

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

n establishment whose support for the

Sandinista National Liberation Front The Sandinista National Liberation Front (, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistan ...

(FSLN) against President

Anastasio Somoza Debayle Anastasio "Tachito" Somoza Debayle (; 5 December 1925 – 17 September 1980) was a Nicaraguan politician who served as the 53rd President of Nicaragua from 1967 to 1972 and again from 1974 to 1979. As head of the National Guard (Nicaragu ...

played a pivotal role in the acceptance of the Sandinistas by foreign and domestic opinion.

Background

During the 1970s, debates over strategy split the FSLN, with the Terceristas advocating alliances with the middle and upper class against Somoza. They approached twelve figures from Nicaragua's establishment class, some already secretly Sandinistas, to sign a communiqué in support of the FSLN. On October 18, 1977, following a Tercerista offensive, they issued a manifesto from Costa Rica urging that the Sandinistas must be included in any political process. Their support lent respectability to the Sandinista cause and helped convince many that the rebels were no longer doctrinaire communists. As Nicaragua moved into crisis following the assassination of

Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal (23 September 1924 – 10 January 1978) was a Nicaraguan journalist and publisher. He was the editor of '' La Prensa'', the only significant opposition newspaper to the long rule of the Somoza family. He is a ...

, the Carter administration pressured Somoza to allow the return of Los Doce. Upon their return on July 5, 1978, tens of thousands lined the streets to welcome them. Members would participate in the Broad Opposition Front (FAO) with other internal opponents of Somoza.

Members

The twelve comprised: * Sergio Ramírez Mercado - writer, FSLN member * Arturo Cruz Porras - official at the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international development finance institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America. It serves as one of the leading sources of development financing for the countri ...

* Carlos Tūnnerman Bernheim - university rector * Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann - Maryknoll priest, official at the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

, secret Sandinista member *Joaquín Cuadra Chamorro - prominent corporate lawyer, whose son, Joaquín Cuadra Lacayo, had joined the FSLN *Felipe Mántica Abaunza - owner of a supermarket chain, left the group before Somoza's overthrow *Ricardo Coronel Kautz - plantation owner, son of writer José Coronel Urtecho *Fernando Cardenal Martínez - a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest who, like his brother, Ernesto Cardenal, had secretly joined the FSLN *Emilio Baltodano Pallais - businessman *Ernesto Castillo Martínez - lawyer *Carlos Gutiérrez Sotelo - dental surgeon *Casimiro Sotelo Rodríguez - architect.

References

* Sandinista National Liberation Front Nicaraguan Revolution {{Nicaragua-stub