Justice Minister and UN Representative
After the Sandinistas took power in July 1979, Astorga was appointed Vice Minister of Justice. In that position she oversaw the trials of some 7,500 members of Somoza's National Guard.
In 1984, her appointment as ambassador to the United States was refused by the Reagan administration because of her involvement in the killing of General Reynaldo Pérez Vega. Vega had been a CIA operative.
Astorga became a deputy representative to the United Nations in 1984, and in March 1986, became the Nicaraguan ambassador to that body, a position she held until her death in 1988. She was instrumental in getting the United Nations to recognize a ruling by the International Court of Justice, Nicaragua v. United States, that declared the United States' support for the Contras illegal.
Read more about this topic: Nora Astorga
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