World: Somoza's Legacy of Greed

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Somoza talked of saving Nicaragua from Communism; in fact, he was plundering the country for his own benefit. Among the companies that he controlled was a Mercedes-Benz dealership that sold garbage trucks to Managua's sanitation department. Another firm collected the revenues from the city's parking meters. Such risk-free opportunities, of course, are no longer available to Somoza. But between the assets that he and his mistress brought with them into exile, there could be enough to rebuild his empire all over again, albeit on a lesser scale.