Lawrence Pezzullo

Lawrence Pezzullo was the U.S. ambassador to Nicaragua who negotiated with Anastasio Somoza during the final days of his regime, assuring him the United States was willing to preserve the National Guard. Pezzullo's conversations with Somoza revealed the depth of the U.S. investment in the Guardia that would later form the core of the Contra army.¹

Negotiations with Somoza

In a tense meeting, Somoza pleaded with Pezzullo not to abandon the National Guard, listing his contributions to U.S. foreign policy: "I have thrown many people out of their natural habitat because of the U.S., fighting for your cause. So let's talk like friends." Somoza invoked the American military training of his officers at Fort Gulick, Fort Benning, and Fort Leavenworth as evidence of the shared investment. Pezzullo assured Somoza that the United States was "willing to do what we can to preserve the Guard." "We are not abandoning the Guard," he insisted. Despite these assurances, the Guard collapsed when Somoza fled to Homestead Air Force Base in Florida on July 17, 1979.²