Claudia Lucía Chamorro Barrios (born ) is a

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the coun ...

n writer, public health official, and former ambassador of Nicaragua to Cuba and Costa Rica. She served as a diplomat on behalf of the

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

government in the 1980s. She later became a critic of the FSLN. She is the author of a memoir, ''Tiempo de Vivir''.

Biography

Claudia Lucía Chamorro Barrios was born to

Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Violeta Barrios Torres de Chamorro (; 18 October 1929) is a Nicaraguan politician who served as President of Nicaragua from 1990 to 1997. She was the first and, as of 2022, only woman to hold the position of president of Nicaragua. Born in ...

, who became

President of Nicaragua The president of Nicaragua ( es, Presidente de Nicaragua), officially known as the president of the Republic of Nicaragua ( es, Presidente de la República de Nicaragua), is the head of state and head of government of Nicaragua. The office was ...

in 1990, and

Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal (23 September 1924 – 10 January 1978) was a Nicaraguan journalist and publisher. He was the editor of '' La Prensa'', the only significant opposition newspaper to the long rule of the Somoza family. He is a 1 ...

, a newspaper editor critical of the

Somoza regime The Somoza family ( es, Familia Somoza) is a former political family that ruled Nicaragua for forty-three years from 1936 to 1979. Their family dictatorship was founded by Anastasio Somoza García and was continued by his two sons Luis Somoza ...

. Her father was murdered in 1978, prompting sympathy to turn against the government. Until her father's assassination, Chamorro worked as an artist and the director of an art gallery, but then became active with the Sandinistas, and once they took power, she served as a negotiator for the

junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by a ...

and in ambassadorial posts in Cuba and Costa Rica in the 1980s. In 1986 Chamorro was serving as Nicaragua's ambassador to Costa Rica, on behalf of the FSLN government. At the same time, her brother Pedro Joaquín was also in Costa Rica but working for the

Contras The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua, which came to power in 1979 foll ...

, editing the anti-FSLN publication '' Nicaragua Hoy'' and serving as spokesman for the US-backed effort to overthrow the FSLN. But the siblings remained on good terms, their children playing together. That year, Chamorro married Edmundo Jarquin, then Nicaragua's ambassador to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, who had worked closely with her father in the 1970s. It was Chamorro’s second marriage. They married on the date that would have been Pedro Joaquin Chamorro Cardenal's 62nd birthday. Chamorro later became critical of the FSLN. She called for Nicaraguans to boycott the 2016 election, saying FSLN leader

Daniel Ortega José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (; born 11 November 1945) is a 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 Junta of Na ...

's reelection to a third term as president was predetermined and a violation of the Nicaraguan constitution. Chamorro is the author of ''Tiempo de Vivir'', a 2003 memoir about her son's illness and death from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

. With her family she moved to the United States in 1991 to pursue treatment for him; Marcos Tolentino Bárcenas Chamorro died as a teenager in 1996. After her son's death, Chamorro began working at the Pan American Health Organization (part of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level o ...

), then went back to school at

American University The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was cha ...

. Chamorro's other family members include her uncle Xavier Chamorro Cardenal, founder of '' El Nuevo Diario;'' her brother

Carlos Fernando Chamorro Barrios Carlos Fernando Chamorro Barrios (born ) is a Nicaraguan independent investigative journalist. He is the founder and editor of Confidencial, a news website and weekly publication combining investigative journalism and analyses of current affair ...

, founder of

Confidencial ''Confidencial'' is a Nicaraguan weekly newspaper in Nicaragua with offices in the capital Managua. It was founded in 1996 by Carlos Fernando Chamorro Barrios, Chamorro is the former director of the Sandinista National Liberation Front newspap ...

; and her sister

Cristiana Chamorro Barrios Cristiana Chamorro Barrios (born 1954) is a Nicaraguan journalist, nonprofit executive and political candidate. Vice-president of ''La Prensa'', she was an aspiring presidential candidate in the 2021 Nicaraguan general election until the Orte ...

, former editor of La Prensa and opposition candidate for president in the 2021 Nicaraguan general election.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chamorro Barrios, Claudia 1950s births Living people Ambassadors of Nicaragua to Costa Rica Ambassadors of Nicaragua to Cuba American University alumni Sandinista National Liberation Front 21st-century memoirists Nicaraguan women writers Chamorro family People of the Nicaraguan Revolution 20th-century Nicaraguan women politicians 20th-century Nicaraguan politicians Nicaraguan women ambassadors Members of the Sandinista National Liberation Front Children of presidents of Nicaragua