Germán Pomares

Detail 20 Córdoba banknote Nicaragua 1985 Comandante Germán Pomares Ordonez

Germán Pomares Ordóñez (born August 17, 1937 in El Viejo , Chinandega Department , † May 24, 1979 in Jinotega ), fighting name El Danto ( Spanish : the tapir ), was a Nicaraguan revolutionary and co-founder of the National Directory of the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional . He fell in the course of fighting during the Nicaraguan Revolution . In 1981 he became a national hero ( Héroe Nacional) Nicaragua declared and received posthumously by the Frente Sandinista the rank of Comandante guerrilla and the Sandinista People's Army the degree Comandante de Brigada awarded.

Origin, activity

His parents were Ángel Ordóñez Picado and Celia Marcela Pomares; Germán was the oldest of four children. As a supporter of the Conservative Party, the family became involved in the fight against the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza García at an early stage . In 1959 Pomares made contact with political groups that were actively fighting against the Somoza dictatorship. In 1960 he joined the Juventud Patriótica Nicaragüense (JPN = Nicaraguan Patriotic Youth), in 1961 the Movimiento Nueva Nicaragua (MNN = Movement New Nicaragua), a forerunner of the FSLN.

On July 24, 1961, Pomares arrived in Cuba , where he received military training, and returned to Nicaragua in February 1962. On July 15 of that year he was arrested by the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua in his birthplace. After his release, he traveled to Honduras in the region around the Río Patuca , where a guerrilla column was preparing to attack Nicaragua. On July 23, 1963 he took part in the capture of the towns of Raití and Walaquistán.

Due to his organizational skills, he arrived on April 16, 1967 at the guerrilla base in Pancasán , Matagalpa Department , where he set up storage facilities and thereby expanded his military skills. From late 1967 to 1969 he transferred weapons and fighters to the southern front, where he was injured after a shootout on April 18, 1969 and then arrested.

After his release, he participated in the December 23, 1969 the invasion of the commands "Julio Buitrago" in the prison Alajuela / Costa Rica in part where Carlos Fonseca was imprisoned. In April 1970 he was arrested and detained again in Managua . On December 27, 1974, with the "Juan José Quezada" commando, he took part in the attack on the house of José María Castillo Quant, where political prisoners were freed by the taking of prominent politicians. In June 1976 he withdrew to Costa Rica with other guerrillas.

In October 1977 he led a guerrilla column against National Guard bases in Mozonte, San Fernando and Santa Clara as well as against haciendas in the Nueva Segovia department. On March 14, 1978 he was arrested in Honduras and deported to Panama, where he was appointed leader of the Frente Norte Carlos Fonseca Amador in 1979 .

On March 26, 1979, he led the capture of the town of El Jícaro in Nueva Segovia, which initiated the so-called final offensive of the revolution. On May 19, he led a guerrilla column of over 300 men against Jinotega . On May 22nd, according to official reports, he was hit by a stray bullet on the La Cruz hill and seriously wounded; on May 24th he died of the consequences. For the FSLN, Pomare's death was a heavy loss, as he was considered the most militarily experienced member of the Board of Directors. His body was buried in a mausoleum in the central park of his birthplace El Viejo.

Honors

With Decree No. 799 of the government junta, Pomares was declared a national hero in August 1981 . On April 30, 1985, the Comandante Germán Pomares Ordonez Order was founded after him , which is awarded for special services to the fatherland. His likeness was continued for 20:00 Córdoba - banknote used, which was until 1990 in use.

literature

• Mónica Baltodano: Memorias de la lucha sandinista , Tomo 3: El camino a la unidad y al triunfo: Chinandega, Frente Sur, Masaya y la toma del Búnker , Managua (Instituto de Historia de Nicaragua y Centroamérica de la Universidad Centroaméricana, IHNCA-UCA ) 2010. ISBN 978-99924-986-8-2

Web links

• La bala descarriada que al Danto atrapó ("The stray bullet that hit Danto"), in: El Nuevo Diario of May 22, 2011.
• Images by Germán Pomares at grandesimagenes.com ( Memento from October 14, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
• Film interview with Germán Pomares after the attack in Managua in 1974 on youtube.com