Arturo Cruz
Encyclopedia
Arturo José Cruz Porras sometimes called Arturo Cruz, Sr. to distinguish him from his son
, is a Nicaragua
n banker and technocrat. He became prominent in politics during the Sandinista (FSLN) era. After repeatedly resigning from positions in protest, opinion divided between those who lauded him as a statesman and man of principle, and those who derided him as an ineffectual hand-wringer.
, Nicaragua
. His father despised Anastasio Somoza García
, despite the family's traditional Liberal loyalties. Cruz graduated from the military academy in 1944, but refused his commission rather than serve Somoza's dictatorship. He went on to attend Georgetown University
in the United States
. Cruz participated in a 1947 coup plot against Somoza, for which he was imprisoned for four months. After joining the April Rebellion of 1954, together with his brother-in-law, Adolfo Báez Bone, and Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, he was jailed again for about a year, while Báez was executed. However, his wife persuaded him not to join Edmundo and Fernando "El Negro" Chamorro in their November 1960 rising, which included an attack on the Jinotepe barracks. He would avoid rebel politics for nearly two decades.
In 1969, Cruz became an official at the Inter-American Development Bank
in Washington, D.C.
. There, he was approached by the FSLN in 1977. He became a member of Los Doce
, the Group of Twelve establishment figures who voiced support for the Sandinista struggle against dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle
. Their backing of the Sandinistas' popular front
convinced many Nicaraguans that the FSLN's appeal had broadened beyond its communist roots, and moved the country towards the full-scale insurrection that toppled the régime in July 1979.
in April 1980, after finding that the real power lay with the FSLN National Directorate, he joined the Junta as a replacement moderate on May 18. He too became frustrated with his impotence, but agreed to leave gracefully by becoming ambassador to the United States. The arrangement was announced on March 4, 1981.
Cruz continued to clash with Sandinista policies, and resigned as ambassador in November 1981, returning to the IADB. However, he was a major ghostwriter for the speech delivered by Sandinista hero Edén Pastora
at his press conference of April 15, 1982, in which Pastora declared his break with the FSLN National Directorate. Pastora's speech helped convince his son, Arturo Cruz, Jr.
, who was not then aware of his father's role, to also move from supporting the Sandinistas to joining Pastora's camp.
When the Sandinistas announced in January 1984 that they would hold elections in November, the right-wing opposition umbrella group, the Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense
, settled on Cruz as the only candidate acceptable to all factions. However, in the end he boycotted the election
, saying it would not be free and fair. Years later he admitted that his decision not to run was a mistake and that he was on the payroll of the CIA.
Afterwards, Cruz drifted deeper into the politics of the rebel Contras
. He was a primary drafter of the San José Declaration of March 1, 1985, signed by many rebel leaders. The declaration evolved into the formation of the rebel umbrella group United Nicaraguan Opposition
(UNO) on June 12, with Alfonso Robelo
and the Nicaraguan Democratic Force
's Adolfo Calero
. However, with Calero's FDN comprising the great majority of UNO's forces, he found himself in another figurehead position. He continually threatened to resign unless he and Robelo were given real power. Despite Calero's eventual resignation in February 1987, he quit anyway on March 9.
In 1999, he issued a statement asking the United States and Honduran governments to release all information about the death of his nephew, David Arturo Báez Cruz, a naturalized American citizen and former Green Beret who returned to Nicaragua to serve in Sandinista military intelligence, and died while acting as a military advisor
with Honduran guerrillas.
Arturo Cruz, Jr.
Arturo José Cruz Sequeira is the son of Nicaraguan politician Arturo Cruz. He became involved in the exile politics of the Contra rebels opposing the Sandinista government in the 1980s, and more recently served as the Ambassador of Nicaragua to the United States for two years from 2007 to 2009...
, is a Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
n banker and technocrat. He became prominent in politics during the Sandinista (FSLN) era. After repeatedly resigning from positions in protest, opinion divided between those who lauded him as a statesman and man of principle, and those who derided him as an ineffectual hand-wringer.
Somoza opponent
Cruz grew up in JinotepeJinotepe
Jinotepe is a city in Nicaragua, located in Department of Carazo in the South Pacific region of Nicaragua at the municipality of Jinotepe. It borders with Managua, Masaya, Granada, and Rivas.It is a sister city of Santa Cruz, California, United States....
, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. His father despised Anastasio Somoza García
Anastasio Somoza García
Anastasio Somoza García was officially the President of Nicaragua from 1 January 1937 to 1 May 1947 and from 21 May 1950 to 29 September 1956, but ruled effectively as dictator from 1936 until his assassination.-Biography:Somoza was born in San Marcos, Carazo Department in Nicaragua, the son of...
, despite the family's traditional Liberal loyalties. Cruz graduated from the military academy in 1944, but refused his commission rather than serve Somoza's dictatorship. He went on to attend Georgetown University
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Cruz participated in a 1947 coup plot against Somoza, for which he was imprisoned for four months. After joining the April Rebellion of 1954, together with his brother-in-law, Adolfo Báez Bone, and Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, he was jailed again for about a year, while Báez was executed. However, his wife persuaded him not to join Edmundo and Fernando "El Negro" Chamorro in their November 1960 rising, which included an attack on the Jinotepe barracks. He would avoid rebel politics for nearly two decades.
In 1969, Cruz became an official at the Inter-American Development Bank
Inter-American Development Bank
The Inter-American Development Bank is the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. There, he was approached by the FSLN in 1977. He became a member of Los Doce
Los Doce
El Grupo de los Doce, or Group of Twelve, were a dozen members of the Nicaraguan establishment whose support for the Sandinista National Liberation Front struggle against dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle played a pivotal role in the acceptance of the Sandinistas by foreign and domestic...
, the Group of Twelve establishment figures who voiced support for the Sandinista struggle against dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Anastasio Somoza Debayle
Anastasio Somoza Debayle was a Nicaraguan leader and officially the 73rd and 76th President of Nicaragua from 1 May 1967 to 1 May 1972 and from 1 December 1974 to 17 July 1979. As head of the National Guard, he was de facto ruler of the country from 1967 to 1979...
. Their backing of the Sandinistas' popular front
Popular front
A popular front is a broad coalition of different political groupings, often made up of leftists and centrists. Being very broad, they can sometimes include centrist and liberal forces as well as socialist and communist groups...
convinced many Nicaraguans that the FSLN's appeal had broadened beyond its communist roots, and moved the country towards the full-scale insurrection that toppled the régime in July 1979.
Sandinista opponent
Cruz was appointed head of the Central Bank in post-Somoza Nicaragua. When the non-communist moderates resigned from the Junta of National ReconstructionJunta of National Reconstruction
The Junta of National Reconstruction officially ruled Nicaragua from July 1979 to January 1985, though effective power was in the hands of the Sandinista National Liberation Front's National Directorate....
in April 1980, after finding that the real power lay with the FSLN National Directorate, he joined the Junta as a replacement moderate on May 18. He too became frustrated with his impotence, but agreed to leave gracefully by becoming ambassador to the United States. The arrangement was announced on March 4, 1981.
Cruz continued to clash with Sandinista policies, and resigned as ambassador in November 1981, returning to the IADB. However, he was a major ghostwriter for the speech delivered by Sandinista hero Edén Pastora
Edén Pastora
Edén Atanacio Pastora Gómez is a Nicaraguan politician and former guerrilla who ran for president as the candidate of the Alternative for Change party in the 2006 general elections...
at his press conference of April 15, 1982, in which Pastora declared his break with the FSLN National Directorate. Pastora's speech helped convince his son, Arturo Cruz, Jr.
Arturo Cruz, Jr.
Arturo José Cruz Sequeira is the son of Nicaraguan politician Arturo Cruz. He became involved in the exile politics of the Contra rebels opposing the Sandinista government in the 1980s, and more recently served as the Ambassador of Nicaragua to the United States for two years from 2007 to 2009...
, who was not then aware of his father's role, to also move from supporting the Sandinistas to joining Pastora's camp.
When the Sandinistas announced in January 1984 that they would hold elections in November, the right-wing opposition umbrella group, the Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense
Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense
The Coordinadora Democrática Nicaragüense was a coalition of three right-wing Nicaraguan parties which boycotted the Nicaraguan general election, 1984. The parties were the Social Christians, the Social Democrats, and the Constitutional Liberal Party....
, settled on Cruz as the only candidate acceptable to all factions. However, in the end he boycotted the election
Election boycott
An election boycott is the boycotting of an election by a group of voters, each of whom abstains from voting.Boycotting may be used as a form of political protest where voters feel that electoral fraud is likely, or that the electoral system is biased against its candidates, or that the polity...
, saying it would not be free and fair. Years later he admitted that his decision not to run was a mistake and that he was on the payroll of the CIA.
Afterwards, Cruz drifted deeper into the politics of the rebel Contras
Contras
The contras is a label given to the various rebel groups opposing Nicaragua's FSLN Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction government following the July 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle's dictatorship...
. He was a primary drafter of the San José Declaration of March 1, 1985, signed by many rebel leaders. The declaration evolved into the formation of the rebel umbrella group United Nicaraguan Opposition
United Nicaraguan Opposition
The United Nicaraguan Opposition was a Nicaraguan rebel umbrella group formed in 1985, led by the triumvirate of Adolfo Calero, Alfonso Robelo, and Arturo Cruz...
(UNO) on June 12, with Alfonso Robelo
Alfonso Robelo
Luis Alfonso Robelo Callejas , a Nicaraguan businessman, was the founder of the Nicaraguan Democratic Movement . He was one of the "moderates" on the five-members Junta of National Reconstruction that the Sandinistas claimed would rule Nicaragua following the overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle...
and the Nicaraguan Democratic Force
Nicaraguan Democratic Force
The Nicaraguan Democratic Force was one of the earliest Contra groups, formed on August 11, 1981 in Guatemala City. It was formed to oppose Nicaragua's revolutionary Sandinista government following the 1979 overthrow of Anastasio Somoza Debayle...
's Adolfo Calero
Adolfo Calero
Adolfo Calero Portocarrero was a Nicaraguan businessman, and leader of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force, which was the largest contra rebel group opposing the Sandinista government. In the contra leadership, Calero was responsible for managing the bank accounts into which money was deposited and...
. However, with Calero's FDN comprising the great majority of UNO's forces, he found himself in another figurehead position. He continually threatened to resign unless he and Robelo were given real power. Despite Calero's eventual resignation in February 1987, he quit anyway on March 9.
In 1999, he issued a statement asking the United States and Honduran governments to release all information about the death of his nephew, David Arturo Báez Cruz, a naturalized American citizen and former Green Beret who returned to Nicaragua to serve in Sandinista military intelligence, and died while acting as a military advisor
Military advisor
Military advisors, or combat advisors, are soldiers sent to foreign nations to aid that nation with its military training, organization, and other various military tasks. These soldiers are often sent to aid a nation without the potential casualties and political ramifications of actually...
with Honduran guerrillas.