Anastasio Somoza was gunned down by four assassins bullets while attending a dance. Somoza, who seized power in 1937 died some seven days later and his son Luis quickly assumed power. His Presidency was assured on February 4,1957 when he was officially inaugurated. And so the Somoza regime continued, pretty much unabated until his ouster by the Sandanistas in 1979. What resulted involved the U.S. and what became the infamous Iran/Contra scandal. A general state of chaos continued until around 1990 when Violeta Chamorro won an upset victory in the country's first free poll since 1937.

Some things just don't change overnight.