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Statement of Joaquín
Álvarez on Sandinistas on the East Coast
After their defeat at El Chipote in January,
and after sweeping south through the coffee
districts of Jinotega in February and March, the
main Sandinista body headed east toward the
mining districts of the Atlantic Coast region.
This brief report summarizes an interview with
Joaquín Álvarez, a laborer at one of the big
US-owned companies on the East Coast, who was
heading west and bumped into two of the main
bodies of rebel troops as they traveled east.
Detained briefly, Álvarez was soon released.
His account offers a glimpse of the
constitution, strength, and intentions of the
rebel movement during this period, and again of
their antagonistic relationship toward persons
of property. Especially noteworthy is his
description of the "small boys" who populated
Sandino's ranks.
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