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SAN JOS, June 14, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Violeta Chamorro, who brought peace to 
Nicaragua after decades of war and was the first woman elected president in 
the Americas, died Saturday at the age of 95, her family said.

Chamorro, who ruled the poor Central American country from 1990 to 1997, 
"died in peace, surrounded by the affection and love of her children," said a 
statement issued by her four children.

As president, Chamorro managed to bring to an end a civil war that had raged 
for much of the 1980s as US-backed rebels known as the 'Contras' fought the 
leftist Sandinista government.

That conflict made Nicaragua one of the big proxy battlegrounds of the Cold 
War.

Chamorro put her country on the path to democracy in the difficult years 
following the Sandinista revolution of 1979, which had toppled a US-backed 
right-wing regime.

In a country known for macho culture, Chamorro had a maternal style and was 
known for her patience and a desire for reconciliation.

When she won the 1990 election at the head of a broad coalition, she defeated 
Daniel Ortega, the Sandinista guerrilla leader and icon who is now president 
again -- and has faced criticism for ruling like a leftist dictator.