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{{Short description|Nicaraguan guerrilla fighter, lawyer, politician, judge and diplomat}}

'''Nora Astorga''' ([[1949]]—[[February 14]], [[1988]]) was a [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] fighter in the [[Nicaraguan Revolution|Nicaraguan Revolution of 1979]], a lawyer, politician, judge and the [[Nicaragua]]n ambassador to the [[United Nations]] from [[1986]] to [[1988]].

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}

{{Infobox officeholder

|name=Nora Astorga

|image= Nora Astorga (1982).jpg

|image_size=200px

|order=

|ambassador_from= Nicaragua

|country= the United Nations

|term_start=1986

|term_end=1988

|predecessor=

|successor=

|president= [[Daniel Ortega]]

|order2 =

|term_start2 =

|term_end2 =

|vicepresident2 =

|viceprimeminister2 =

|deputy2 =

|president2 =

|primeminister2 =

|predecessor2 =

|successor2 =

|birth_name=Nora Josefina Astorga Gadea

|birth_date=10 December 1948<ref name="birth">''Nicaragua, Civil Registration, 1809-2011''</ref>

|birth_place= [[Managua]], [[Nicaragua]]

|death_date= {{dda|1988|2|14|1948|12|10|df=y}}

|death_place= Managua, Nicaragua

|spouse=

|children=

|relations=

|party=[[FSLN]]

|profession=[[Politician]], [[lawyer]], [[judge]]

|alma_mater=

}}

'''Nora Josefina Astorga Gadea de Jenkins''' ([[1949]]10 December 1948 &mdashndash;[[February 14]], [[February 1988]]) was a [[Nicaraguan]] [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla]] fighter in the [[Nicaraguan Revolution|Nicaraguan Revolution of 1979]], a lawyer, politician, judge and the [[Nicaragua]]n ambassador to the [[United Nations]] from [[1986]] to [[1988]].

==Early life and education==

Astorga was born to a religious, upper-middle-class family in [[Managua]]. Her fatherShe was anthe officerfirst inchild of Segundo Astorga, a lumber exporter and rancher with connections to the Nicaraguanpowerful ruling [[Somoza]] family, and his wife NationalMierrel GuardGadea.<ref name="birth"/><ref name="NYT">{{cite news | first=Wolfgang | last=Saxon | title= Nora Astorga, a Sandinista Hero and Delegate to U.N., Dies at 39 | date= 1988-02-15 | url =https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE3DF1F31F936A25751C0A96E948260 | work =New York Times | access-date = 2007-10-15 }}</ref> In her youth she was a devout [[Roman Catholic]], often doing charitable work in the poor neighborhoods of Managua.

In [[1967]], sheAstorga announced to her family's dismay that she supported [[Fernando Agüero]], not his opponent [[Anastasio Somoza Debayle]], in the presidential election. For her personal safety and to "straighten her out"," her family sent her to study medicine in the [[United States]], where she remained from 1967 to 1969. However, the animal dissections disturbed her and she had to abandon her studies. She said of the years she spent in [[1969Washington, D.C.]], "What impressed me most about the [[United States]] were the social contrasts and above all the [[racism]]. I had never seen racism like that in Nicaragua ... [m]y political consciousness was born then."<ref name="RE">{{cite news | title=Nora Astorga In Her Own Words | date=April 1988 | publisher=Central American University (UCA) | url =http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/3134 | work =Envío | access-date = 2007-10-15 }}</ref>

Astorga married Jorge Jenkins when she was 22. Astorga had four children, two with her husband, two with Jose Maria Alvarado, a member of the Sandinistas.<ref name="NYT"/>

"I decided to study medicine because I believed it was one of those professions that would allow me to work for social change", she said. [http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/559] However, the animal dissections disturbed her and she had to abandom her studies. She said of the years she spent in [[Washington, D.C.]], "What impressed me most about the [[United States]] were the social contrasts and above all the [[racism]]. I had never seen racism like that in Nicaragua... My political consciousness was born then." [http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/559]

==A revolutionary==

{{quote box |width=15em | bgcolor=#c6dbf7 |align=right | quote="...Revolutions are not exportable like Coca-Cola or paperbacks or something like that... You don't produce it internally and send it away. Revolutions are made in a country when the conditions in that particular country are for a process of change." |source= Nora Astorga<ref name="NYT"/>}}

Astorga returned to Nicaragua and studied law at the [[National Autonomous University of Nicaragua|Universidad Centroamericana de Managua]]. Her association with Nicaragua's [[Sandinista]] revolutionaries began during her years as a university student. From 1969 to [[1973]], she was responsible for finding safe houses and transportation for the revolutionary leader Oscar Turcios. During the mid-[[1970s]], she led a double life as a mother of two and a corporate lawyer for one of Nicaragua's largest construction companies, while [[Wiktionary:clandestine|clandestinely]] aiding the Sandinistas.

Astorga later returned to Nicaragua and studied law at the [[NationalCentral AutonomousAmerican University of Nicaragua(Managua)|Universidad Centroamericana dein Managua]]. Her association with Nicaragua's [[Sandinista]] revolutionaries began during her years as a university student.<ref>{{cite book |last=Houghton Mifflin Company |title=The Houghton Mifflin Dictionary of Biography |year=2003 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin|isbn=0-618-25210-X |page= 76 }}</ref> From 1969 to [[1973]], she was responsible for finding safe houses and transportation for the revolutionary leader Oscar Turcios. During the mid-[[1970s]], she led a double life as a mother of two and a corporate lawyer for one of Nicaragua's largest construction companies, while [[Wiktionary:clandestine|clandestinely]] aiding the Sandinistas.

After the assassination of newspaper editor [[Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal|Pedro Chamorro]] in [[1978]], Astorga decided to take up arms against the Somoza regime. "I finally understood that armed struggle was the only solution, that a rifle cannot be met with a flower, that we were in the streets, but if that force didn't get organized we wouldn't achieve much", she said. "For me, it was the moment of conviction: either I took up arms and made a total commitment or I wasn't going to change anything." [http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/3134]

At age 22, she married Jorge Jenkins, a student activist. The young couple spent the following year in [[Italy]], where he studied [[anthropology]], and she studied [[banking law]] and [[computer programming]].<ref name="NYT"/> They had two children and separated after five years of marriage. During this time, Astorga led a double life as a mother of two and a [[corporate lawyer]] for one of Nicaragua's largest construction companies, while [[clandestine operation|clandestinely]] aiding the Sandinistas.

She gained national attention for her participation in the botched kidnapping and murder of General Reynaldo Pérez Vega (nicknamed "El Perro" or "the dog"). Pérez Vega was deputy commander of Anastasio Somoza’s [[Guardia Nacional (Nicaragua)|National Guard]]. On [[March 8]], [[1978]] ([[International Women's Day]], ironically) Astorga invited the general to her apartment in Managua, hinting to him that the sexual favors he had long been seeking would be granted. When he arrived, however, three members of the [[Sandinista National Liberation Front|Sandinista Liberation Army]]&mdash;Hilario Sánchez, Raúl Venerio and Walter Ferreti&mdash;burst out of her bedroom closet and seized the general. The plan was to ransom him for jailed Sandinista revolutionaries, but Pérez Vega put up a struggle and was murdered. Later, his throat slit, he was found wrapped in a Sandinista flag. Astorga said of his murder, "I never felt guilty... It was something you had to do for revolutionary justice. He had killed so many. He was a monster." [http://www.rulers.org/indexa4.html]

After the assassination of newspaper editor [[Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal|Pedro Chamorro]] in [[1978]], Astorga decided to take up arms against the Somoza regime. "I finally understood that armed struggle was the only solution, that a rifle cannot be met with a flower, that we were in the streets, but if that force didn't get organized we wouldn't achieve much", she said. "For me, it was the moment of conviction: either I took up arms and made a total commitment or I wasn't going to change anything."<ref [http://www.envio.org.ni/articuloname="RE"/3134]>

She gained national attention for her participation in the botched kidnapping and murder of General Reynaldo Pérez Vega (nicknamed "El Perro," or "the dog"). Pérez Vega was deputy commander of Anastasio Somoza’sSomoza's [[Guardia Nacional (Nicaragua)|National Guard]].<ref>{{cite Onnews [[March| 8]]title=Nora and the Dog | date=1984-04-02 | url =http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954189-1,00.html [[1978]]| ([[Internationalarchive-url Women's=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020224920/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,954189-1,00.html Day]]| url-status =dead | archive-date =October 20, ironically)2012 | magazine =TIME | access-date = 2007-10-15 }}</ref> On March 8, 1978, Astorga invited the general to her apartment in [[Managua]], hinting to him that the sexual favors he had long been seekingsought would be granted.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Mahan, Sue |author2=Griset, Pamala L. |title=Terrorism in perspective |url=https://archive.org/details/terrorisminpersp00pama |url-access=registration |publisher=Sage Publications |year=2003|isbn=0-7619-2404-3 |page= [https://archive.org/details/terrorisminpersp00pama/page/176 176]}}</ref> When he arrived, however, three members of the [[Sandinista National Liberation Front|Sandinista Liberation Army]] (FSLN) &mdash; Hilario Sánchez (1953-1983), Raúl "El Zorro" Venerio Granera (1945-2019) and Walter Ferreti (1956-1988) &mdash; burst out of her bedroom closet and seized the general. The plan was to [[ransom]] him for jailed Sandinista revolutionaries, but Pérez Vega put up a struggle and was murdered. Later, with his throat slit, he was found wrapped in a Sandinista flag. Astorga said of his murder, "IIt neverwas feltnot guilty..murder. ItHe was somethingtoo youmuch hadof toa domonster."<ref>Sciolino, forElaine revolutionary(September justice.28, He1986) had"Nicaragua's killedU.N. so manyVoice." HeNew wasYork a monsterTimes." [http:<//www.rulers.org/indexa4.html]ref>

In an interview shortly before her death, she described her feelings about her role in the Pérez Vega murder this way:

:{{Quotation|...Sometimes people ask me why I don't have any guilty feelings in regard to "the dog"." They want to know how I could do something so fierce without feeling guilty. I believe I don't feel guilty for three reasons. First, we were supposed to kidnap him, not kill him. Second, I wasn't there at the momementmoment of his death. And third, he represented repression. He was practically Somoza's second in command, the one who conducted all those murderous operations in the north, the one who massacred so many in [[Masaya]]. He really was a monster. I understood his death as part of the liberation struggle...|Nora [http:Astorga<ref name="RE"//www.envio.org.ni/articulo/559]>}}

She became the subject of a national manhunt and next appeared to the Nicaraguan public on the pages of ''La Prensa'', the nation's opposition newspaper. She was wearing jungle fatigues and carrying an [[AK-47|AK-47 assault rifle]]. Astorga had escaped to the jungle and joined the Sandinista revolutionaries. SheThere, wasshe became pregnant with her third child by José María Alvarado, a leading Sandinista.

==Justice Minister and UN Representative==

After the Sandinistas took power in July [[1979]], Astorga was appointed Vice Minister of Justice. In that position she oversaw the trials of some 7,500 members of Somoza's National Guard.<ref>{{cite book |last= Randall |first= Margaret|title= Todas estamos despiertas: Testimonios de la mujer Nicaragüense de hoy |language= es |isbn= 968-23-1011-3 |chapter= 5 |year= 1980|chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=5cOH6jbq9w4C&q=nora+astorga+7500&pg=RA1-PA167|quote= Nora Astorga -Militante Sandinista, abogada, madre de tres niños -es la fisical especial de justicia encargada de enjuciar a los más de 7500 somocistas que se enfrentan a la justicia popular. |page= 167|publisher= Siglo XXI}}</ref>

In [[1984]], her appointment as ambassador to the United States was refused by the [[Reagan administration]] because of her involvement in the killing of General Reynaldo Pérez Vega. Vega had been a [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] operative.<ref>{{cite news | title= 800 Attend Mass for Nicaraguan | date= 1988-02-24| url =https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE7DA173EF937A15751C0A96E948260 | work =New York Times | access-date = 2007-10-16 | quote = In 1984, the United States refused to accept Miss Astorga as Nicaragua's Ambassador to Washington, citing her role during the Sandinista revolution in luring a Nicaraguan general who had worked with the Central Intelligence Agency to her bedroom, where he was killed by assailants who had hid there. She later maintained that the operation was an attempted kidnapping that went wrong when a struggle developed.}}</ref>

Astorga became a deputy representative to the [[United Nations]] in 1984, and in March [[1986]], became the Nicaraguan ambassador to that body, a position she held until her death in 1988.<ref>{{cite news| title =Nora Astorga| publisher =MADRE.org| url =http://www.madre.org/about/noraastorga.html| access-date =2007-10-16| url-status =dead| archive-url =https://archive.today/20070803141116/http://www.madre.org/about/noraastorga.html| archive-date =2007-08-03}}</ref> She was instrumental in getting the United Nations to recognize a ruling by the [[WorldInternational Court of Justice]], declaring''[[Nicaragua v. United States]]'', that declared the United States' support for the [[Contra (guerrillas)|Contras]] illegal.

==Death at age 39==

On [[Valentine's14 Day]]February [[1988]], "La Norita" died of [[cervical cancer]] in [[Managua]], aged 39. She was awarded the title "Hero of the Fatherland and Revolution" and the Order of [[Carlos Fonseca]]. Shein appearsJuly as1987, onewhich ofwas the twelvehighest apostles in the muralorder of the VisitaciónNicaragua at Casathe Ave Maria in Managuatime.<ref A [[barrio]], or neighborhood, in Managua is named for her.name="RE"/>

==External links=Legacy===

She appears as one of the twelve apostles in the mural of the Visitación at Casa Ave Maria in Managua. A [[barrio]], or neighborhood, in Managua was named for her.

*[[Image:Symbole-es.png|30px|Link to a Spanish language website]] [http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/559 ''Nora Astorga: El orgullo de ser nicaragüense''], an interview (in [[Spanish language|Spanish]]) from ''Revista Envío'' with Astorga shortly before her death.

*[http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/3134 ''Nora Astorga in Her Own Words''], an English translation of the interview with Nora Astorga in ''Revista Envío''.

The 1986 song "Mariel" by the [[KBC Band]] was inspired by Nora Astorga.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20030316192227/http://jeffersonstarshipsf.com/ndiary.htm Jefferson Starships] </ref> KBC members Jack Casady and Paul Kantner played this song at her memorial service.

==Further reading==

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*Margaret Randall and Lynda Yanz (1995) ''Sandino's Daughters: Testimonies of Nicaraguan Women in Struggle'' (Rutgers University Press).

==References==

[[Category:1949 births|Astorga, Nora]]

{{Reflist|2}}

[[Category:1988 deaths|Astorga, Nora]]

[[Category:Date of birth missing|Astorga, Nora]]

==External links==

[[Category:Cervical cancer deaths|Astorga, Nora]]

*[http://www.envio.org.ni/articulo/3134 ''Nora Astorga in Her Own Words''], an English translation of the interview with Nora Astorga in ''Revista Envío''.

[[Category:Nicaraguan politicians|Astorga, Nora]]

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[[Category:Nicaraguan revolutionaries|Astorga, Nora]]

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[[Category:Women1948 in war|Astorga, Norabirths]]

[[Category:1988 deaths|Astorga, Nora]]

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[[Category:Nicaraguan judges]]

[[Category:Nicaraguan revolutionaries|Astorga, Nora]]

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[[Category:Deaths from cancer in Nicaragua]]

[[Category:Permanent representatives of Nicaragua to the United Nations]]

[[Category:Sandinista National Liberation Front politicians]]

[[Category:20th-century Nicaraguan women politicians]]

[[Category:20th-century Nicaraguan politicians|Astorga, Nora]]

[[Category:People of the Nicaraguan Revolution]]

[[Category:20th-century judges]]

[[Category:Central American University (Managua) alumni]]

[[Category:20th-century women judges]]

[[Category:Nicaraguan women ambassadors]]

[[Category:Women in the Nicaraguan Revolution]]