History of Jinotega

The Jinotega region is perhaps the most war-torn region in Nicaragua's history. Its remote location as well as its proximity to the border with Honduras made it a haven for rebel forces throughout the last seven decades. The most intense battles took place in the Department of Jinotega between 1927 and 1934 under Augusto C. Sandino and his troops (popularly known as "los bandoleros") against the  American occupation troops. Later, at the end of the 1970s, Jinotega was a place of bitter war between the troops of Anastasio Somoza Debayle and the civilian rebel population. Somoza was defeated on July 19, 1979. After a short period of peace, civil war began again between government troops of the new Sandinista regime and the Contra rebels who felt betrayed by the Sandinistas and were funded by the United States