# Mena Rebellion (1912)

URL: https://allhistories.com/nicaragua/timeline/1912-mena-rebellion
Location: Granada, Nicaragua
Themes: battle

Luis Mena, the Conservative general who controlled the army after 1911, had his own ambitions for the presidency. In 1912 he persuaded the constituent assembly to name him president for the term beginning in 1913, a decision the United States refused to accept. He also gained support by accusing Díaz of selling the nation to the New York bankers. When Díaz dismissed him as minister of war at the end of July 1912, Mena left Managua with troops loyal to him and made his base in Granada. The Liberal general Benjamín Zeledón, a former minister of Zelaya, joined the rising and fortified the hills of Coyotepe and La Barranca at Masaya. Rebel forces seized lake steamers and the railway between Managua and Granada, both owned by American interests, and bombarded the capital. Díaz, unable to guarantee foreign lives and property, asked for US protection. The rebellion triggered the landing of US Marines in August 1912. Mena, ill and surrounded at Granada, surrendered to Rear Admiral William Southerland on about 25 September and was taken to exile in Panama, leaving Zeledón to fight on alone. The war cost hundreds of lives and ensured that the Conservatives stayed in power only under US protection. At this point in the timeline (29 July 1912), the President of Nicaragua was Adolfo Díaz (9 May 1911 – 1 January 1917).

## Why it matters
Mena's rebellion was the immediate cause of the US military occupation of Nicaragua.

Ruler at the Time: [Adolfo Díaz](https://allhistories.com/nicaragua/rulers/adolfo-diaz)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Luis Mena](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luis_Mena)
- [Spanish Wikipedia — Revolución libero-conservadora de 1912](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolución_libero-conservadora_de_1912)
- [US Office of the Historian — Nicaragua country history](https://history.state.gov/countries/nicaragua)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica — Luis Mena Nicaragua](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Luis+Mena+Nicaragua)
- [Wikipedia — Us Occupation And Sandino (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_occupation_of_Nicaragua)