Biography
Humberto Ortega and his brother, current President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, founded the Tercerista tendency of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in 1975. He,among others leaders crafted the urban insurrection strategy that ignited civil war in Nicaragua in October 1977, leading to the fall of the Somoza dynastic dictatorship in July 1979. As Minister of Defense during the decade of Sandinista rule, Ortega oversaw the build up of the Sandinista Popular Army (EPS) and the prosecution of the war against the "contra" resistance factions and their peasant support base.
Following the electoral defeat of Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista Party in 1990, Humberto maintained control of the military. He retired in 1995, turning the job over to his second in command, Joaquín Cuadra. General Humberto Ortega started transforming the EPS into the non-political Nicaraguan National Army. Allegedly, he was behind the assassination of many retired anti-sandinistas rebels. This allegation has not been put forward by any legal authority inside or outside of Nicaragua.
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