Speaking last night at a graduation ceremony for cadets of the Leonel Rugama University of Police Sciences, the president made reference to the battles leading up to the victory of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in July 1979.

He also recalled the fight of December 16, 1978 in Peñas Blancas (border with Costa Rica), where the Somoza guard was accompanied by the aircraft.

“And the guerrilla units with their rifles, then came mortars, then came cannons, thanks to the solidarity of Commander Fidel Castro,” Ortega said at the ceremony where 33 new National Police officers graduated.

The Sandinista leader recalled that in that battle, Somocista guards were killed, but also comrades of the FSLN, among them, Roberto Lara Pineda, Ariel Sánchez, Danilo Ponce, José Francisco Gaitán Muñoz and Ramón Escobar.

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