Aminta Granera Sacasa (born 18 September 1952) is a former

Sandinista The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a Socialism, socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after ...

revolutionary and the former Director General of the

National Police of Nicaragua The National Nicaraguan Police Force ( es, La Policía Nacional Nicaragüense) is the national police of Nicaragua. The force is in charge of regular police functions and, at times, works in conjunction with the Nicaraguan military, making it an ...

. She was the chief of the National Police from September 5, 2006, until April 27, 2018.

Early life

Aminta Granera Sacasa was born 18 September 1952 in

León, Nicaragua León () is the second largest city in Nicaragua, after Managua. Founded by the Spanish as Santiago de los Caballeros de León, it is the capital and largest city of León Department. , the municipality of León has an estimated population of 2 ...

. After studies at

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

in the United States, Granera decided to become a nun and began her

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

with the

Sisters of the Assumption The Religious of the Assumption is an international Roman Catholic women's congregation founded by Saint Marie Eugénie Milleret in Paris in 1839, and dedicated to the education of young girls. The Assumption Mission Associates is an affiliate ...

Guatemala City Guatemala City ( es, Ciudad de Guatemala), known locally as Guatemala or Guate, is the capital and largest city of Guatemala, and the most populous urban area in Central America. The city is located in the south-central part of the country, nest ...

Career

Grenera left her religious training in 1976 to join the

uprising against dictator Anastasio Somoza. As a revolutionary, she was part of a Christian urban insurrection group. After the successful overthrow of Somoza in 1979, she joined the Ministry of the Interior (Mint) under

Sandinista National Liberation Front The Sandinista National Liberation Front ( es, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN) is a Socialism, socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after ...

(FLSN) comandante

Tomás Borge Tomás Borge Martínez (13 August 1930 – 30 April 2012), often spelled as Thomas Borge in United States newspapers) was a cofounder of the Sandinista National Liberation Front in Nicaragua and was Interior Minister of Nicaragua during one of th ...

. When the Sandinista administration ended in 1990, she joined the new

National Police National Police may refer to the national police forces of several countries: *Afghanistan: Afghan National Police *Haiti: Haitian National Police *Colombia: National Police of Colombia *Cuba: Cuban National Police *East Timor: National Police of ...

, which aimed to professionalize the police force, removing it from partisan politics. She helped to set up special units to combat violence against women and crime against children. She also worked to fight police corruption. In 2006, she was appointed as the national chief of police by conservative president

Enrique Bolaños Enrique José Bolaños Geyer (; 13 May 1928 – 14 June 2021) was a Nicaraguan politician who served as President of Nicaragua from 10 January 2002 to 10 January 2007. From 1997 to 2002, Bolaños served as vice president under Arnoldo Alem� ...

, starting her tenure by replacing several high-ranking police officers. She enjoyed broad national popularity, with approval ratings above 80% (83% in 2013). In 2011, she was appointed to a second term by president

Daniel Ortega José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguans, Nicaraguan revolutionary and politician serving as President of Nicaragua since 2007. Previously he was leader of Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, first as coordinator of the ...

. During her tenure, she worked to increase the number of women serving in the police force, with the goal of reaching 50 percent. However, the police under her tenure also drew allegations of human rights violations and repression of Ortega's critics. Grenera resigned as chief of National Police on April 28, 2018, in the face of mass protests across Nicaragua, dozens of deaths and widespread criticism of the police response.

Personal life

Granera is married to economist Oswaldo Gutiérrez, with whom she has three children. The first was born during the revolutionary war, and after leaving the child with her mother, she returned to the front. She is also the grandmother of Ariel Barrios.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Granera Sacasa, Aminta People from León, Nicaragua Nicaraguan revolutionaries Nicaraguan police officers Women in war in Central America Women in war in South America Women in warfare post-1945 Georgetown University alumni Living people 1952 births