1979: Sandinista rebels take Nicaraguan capital
Fighters of the left-wing Sandinista National Liberation Front overthrow the regime in the central American republic of Nicaragua in July 1979.
President Anastasio Somoza Debayle - the third member of the Somoza dynasty to rule Nicaragua since 1937 - flees to the United States.
The Sandinistas, named after Nicaraguan resistance leader Augusto Cesar Sandino, have waged a civil war against the Somoza government for several years.
As fighting intensified in recent months, thousands of people were killed and about half a million were left homeless.
大象传媒 Archive: This 大象传媒 News report was originally broadcast on 17 July 1979.