Edén Pastora
The flamboyant 'Comandante Cero' who helped topple a dictator, then turned his gun on his former revolutionary comrades.
1937–2020 (age 83)·Nicaraguan politician·Birthday: January 22·The Silent Generation
Biography
Edén Pastora lived a life of dramatic, often contradictory, allegiances. A medical student turned guerrilla, he became a folk hero as 'Comandante Cero' after leading the daring 1978 seizure of Nicaragua's National Palace, a stunt that crippled the Somoza regime. He was a charismatic, media-savvy frontman for the Sandinista revolution. Yet, within years of their victory, he broke with the Sandinista leadership, accusing them of betraying democratic ideals. He took up arms again, this time from the jungles of Costa Rica, leading the contra group ARDE in a bitter war against his former brothers-in-arms. Later in life, he re-entered politics as a critic from the right, his once-fiery rhetoric tempered by time. Pastora's trajectory mirrored Nicaragua's turbulent 20th century, embodying its cycles of revolution and disillusion.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Edén was born in 1937, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Edén Was Born
The biggest hits of 1937
#1 Movie
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Best Picture
The Life of Emile Zola
Edén's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1937Born
Hindenburg disaster; Golden Gate Bridge opens
Gas: $0.20/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"A-Tisket, A-Tasket" — Ella FitzgeraldBest Picture: The Life of Emile Zola
1942Started school
Battle of Midway turns the tide in the Pacific
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $3,175Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"White Christmas" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Mrs. Miniver
1950Became a teenager
Korean War begins
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,354Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Goodnight Irene" — Gordon Jenkins & The WeaversBest Picture: All About Eve
1953Could drive
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1955Could vote
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $9,550Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Rock Around the Clock" — Bill Haley & His CometsBest Picture: Marty
1958Turned 21
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1967Turned 30
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1977Turned 40
Star Wars premieres; Elvis dies
Gas: $0.62/galHome: $31,800Min wage: $2.30/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Tonight's the Night" — Rod StewartBest Picture: Annie Hall
1987Turned 50
Black Monday stock market crash
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $72,400Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Walk Like an Egyptian" — The BanglesBest Picture: The Last Emperor
1997Turned 60
Princess Diana dies in Paris car crash; Harry Potter published
Gas: $1.23/galHome: $104,100Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Candle in the Wind 1997" — Elton JohnBest Picture: Titanic
2007Turned 70
iPhone released; Great Recession begins
Gas: $2.80/galHome: $172,600Min wage: $5.85/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Irreplaceable" — BeyonceBest Picture: No Country for Old Men
2017Turned 80
#MeToo movement; solar eclipse crosses the US
Gas: $2.42/galHome: $195,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Shape of You" — Ed SheeranBest Picture: The Shape of Water
2020Died at 83
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
Key Achievements
- Led the audacious 1978 takeover of Nicaragua's National Palace, taking nearly 2,000 hostages and securing the release of Sandinista prisoners.
- Commanded the Southern Front, a major guerrilla force, during the insurrection against dictator Anastasio Somoza.
- Founded and led the Democratic Revolutionary Alliance (ARDE), a contra group that fought the Sandinista government in the 1980s.
- Ran for President of Nicaragua in 2006 as the candidate for the Alternative for Change party.
Did You Know?
His nom de guerre, 'Comandante Cero' (Commander Zero), became iconic in Latin American revolutionary lore.
He survived multiple assassination attempts, including a 1984 bomb attack allegedly ordered by the CIA.
Before becoming a guerrilla, he studied medicine.
In his later years, he worked as a fishing guide on the San Juan River.
“I took the palace with fifty men, but I could not take the revolution.”
