NICARAGUANS celebrated the 42nd anniversary of the Sandinista revolution today, vowing to defend the country from renewed imperialist aggression ahead of November’s elections.

Thousands gathered in the capital Managua, which became a sea of black and red, the colours of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FLSN,) which governs the Central American country.

They were marking the anniversary of the 1979 overthrow of the US-backed Somoza dictatorship, a brutal regime characterised by executions, mass poverty for the people and political corruption.