| To cigar smokers, Nicaragua is already
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| | Marines occupying the country from 1912
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| legendary. Through regime change, social
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| | to 1933. Left-wing guerilla Augusto
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| upheaval, and revolution, this Latin
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| | Sandino led an effort to expel them,
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| American nation has produced some of the
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| | which was partially successful; but
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| world's finest tobacco. And since the
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| | Anastasio Somoza Garcia, a conservative,
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| post-1959 "cigar diaspora"-when many of
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| | later secretly ordered his assassination,
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| Cuba's great cigar makers fled the
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| | putting an end to a brief left-and-right
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| country to seek more propitious
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| | coalition government. The Somozas ruled
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| conditions than those they expected to
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| | until 1979, when a party named after that
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| find under Castro-it's produced many of
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| | dead guerilla-the FSLN, or Sandinista
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| the world's finest cigars, too.
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| | party-ousted them from power. The wheel
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| Since 1959, Nicaragua has been a cigar
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| | turns again. And again: during the '80s,
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| powerhouse, producing some of the
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| | the country was torn apart by war between
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| highest-ranked and best-selling premium
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| | the right-wing, US-backed Contras and the
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| cigars in the world: CAO, Perdomo,
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| | left-wing, ruling Sandinistas (who, on
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| Padron, Don Pepin Garcia and Drew Estate
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| | the good side, reduced the country's
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| among many others. It competes even with
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| | widespread illiteracy by a stunning forty
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| the wares of the Dominican Republic and
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| | percent within five months, but on the
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| Cuba, currently the cigar world's
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| | bad side, committed human rights
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| reigning superpowers. But there's a lot
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| | violations during the civil war).
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| more to this country than just great
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| | The Sandinistas, incidentally, almost
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| smokes: from the marvelous ancient
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| | destroyed the country's preeminence among
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| footprints of Acahualinca to the fact
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| | cigar-tobacco growers. In trying to put
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| that it was the first Latin American
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| | the desperately-poor, and politically
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| nation to elect a woman President,
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| | encircled, nation on a more secure
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| Nicaragua has a history worth knowing
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| | economic footing, the Sandinistas ordered
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| about-and one that may impact its future
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| | tobacco farmers to switch to cultivating
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| as a cigar lover's capital.
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| | cigarette tobacco. (This was before the
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| Roughly the size of New York, the country
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| | "cigar boom" of the 1990s; many observers
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| is rich in natural resources-so much so
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| | expected the market for cigars to
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| that nearly twenty percent of its
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| | continue to dwindle.) Wherever a person
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| territory is taken up by one or another
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| | may come down politically, cigar smokers
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| officially-designated nature preserve.
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| | can agree that this was a mistake!
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| Predictably, this fertile and beautiful
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| | Both sides in the nation's long culture
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| country has been the subject of frequent
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| | war were heavily hit in 1998 by Hurricane
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| political power struggles: first between
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| | Mitch, one of many natural disasters to
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| the various Spanish Conquistadores and
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| | wreak havoc on this beleaguered country.
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| the indigenous population, which has had
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| | After decades of civil war had
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| a presence in the area for at least six
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| | handicapped its economy and wrecked much
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| thousand years and was nearly wiped out
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| | of its infrastructure, this cataclysmic
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| by 1529. Nicaragua was later annexed by
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| | hurricane did away with nearly seventy
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| the Mexican Empire, finally achieving
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| | percent of the infrastructure still
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| independence in 1838; since then, rival
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| | standing at the time.
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| conservative and liberal factions have
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| | Under the circumstances, it's amazing
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| fought each other for control of the
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| | that Nicaragua continues to enjoy the
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| country's destiny. There was civil war
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| | regional importance that it does-but
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| during the 1840s and '50s, during which
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| | sometimes amazing things happen.
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| an American pretender, William Walker,
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| | Nicaragua makes three hundred million in
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| briefly declared himself the country's
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| | exports every year (mostly agricultural),
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| leader after double-crossing the Liberals
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| | boasts one of the best-regarded rums in
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| who had recruited him to fight in the
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| | Latin America (Flor de Cana), enjoys a
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| war. (Several Latin American countries'
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| | flourishing tourism industry and, of
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| armies united to chase him out of the
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| | course, makes some truly heavenly
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| country the following year, in 1856.)
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| | tobacco. Though it's considered a
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| This pattern-conservative-vs.-liberal
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| | developing nation, it did recently earn a
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| infighting, with occasional interference
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| | ranking from the World Bank as the
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| from the nearest world power-continued
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| | sixty-second best place to start a new
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| through the twentieth century. A
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| | business-the highest-performing Central
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| US-backed Conservative regime ruled for
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| | American country in this particular
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| decades early in the century, with
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| | ranking, except for Panama.
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