ABSTRACT
On February 8, 1979, the Administration imposed most of the sanctions that had been proposed by those inside and outside the administration as a means of forcing Somoza's resignation. From the imposition of sanctions in February to the Sandinistas' "final offensive" in June 1979, the United States withdrew from the crisis. Others, "marching to different drummers," moved to center stage with the objective of overthrowing Somoza militarily. Unaware of the buildup of military equipment in northern Costa Rica and the plans for a major offensive in early May, the Carter Administration continued its cool approach to the Somoza government. Although the Administration had tried to use that decision privately to communicate its seriousness to Somoza, publicly, it had continued to insist that the decision was nonpolitical and the result of the failure by the Nicaraguan government to accept an economic plan.
