Armed Forces Day in Nicaragua

Nicaragua's armed forces were founded on Sept. 2, 1979, replacing the National Guard created by the Somoza regime. A law passed recently by the government's State council fixed September 2 as the chosen date in honour of the same day in 1927 when the revolutionary leader A.C. Sandino founded the movement known as the "Army of Free Men". A helicopter fly-past and a parade by 500 Sandinista soldiers marked the occasion. The military institution was initially known as the Sandinista People's Army and renamed the Nicaraguan army in the 1990s.

MAY 27, 1994 12 AM PT: “Nicaragua will have for the first time in its history a national army, clearly subordinated to civilian power, committed to the constitution, that does not belong and is not subordinated to the interests of any political party or social class,” President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro said in a ceremony to announce Ortega’s departure. “The years of armies that belong to parties, which made the birth of democracy so difficult in Nicaragua, are now behind us,” she said.

In the contemporary period, multiple changes have taken place in the military regarding purpose and structure. The military currently serves as a force for national defense, public security, civil defense, and national development.