Nicaragua

Natural disasters and the consequences of civil war have beset this largest Central American country. Volcanoes and earthquakes along the Pacific coast are a constant threat, and hurricanes hit the low-lying Caribbean coast. With the Sandinista’s overthrow of Anastasio Somoza in 1979, ending his family’s 42-year dictatorship, Nicaragua came under the control of a junta. Eight years of civil war between the Sandinista regime and the U.S.-funded rebels (contras) ended in 1988. Peace brought democracy, but poverty and corruption are major problems.