José Anacleto Ordóñez Bermúdez (1778–1839), also known as Cleto Ordóñez, and nicknamed "''El tuerto Ordóñez''" by his detractors was a liberal Nicaraguan soldier, politician and prominent Central American unionist who served as ''de facto'' Supreme Chief of Nicaragua from August 1824 to 4 January 1825.

Family

Ordóñez was the illegitimate child of captain Diego de Irigoyen he had with María Isidora Bermúdez, a woman of African descent. He was the paternal brother of the priest Policarpo Irigoyen (1775–1829), parish priest of the town of

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and president of the governing board that was formed with headquarters in that town.

Military career

Rebellion

Ordóñez launched a rebellion against the government of on 16 January 1823, capturing various cities across the country, and declaring the independence of Granada, against the ideas of Nicaraguan annexation to the

Mexican Empire Mexican Empire may refer to: * First Mexican Empire, the regime under Agustín de Iturbide (Agustín I) from 1821 to 1823 * Second Mexican Empire The Second Mexican Empire (), officially the Mexican Empire (), was a constitutional monarchy est ...

Civil war

In 1824 a civil war broke out fueled by political unrest between the liberals (''fiebres'' or ''calandracas'') led by Ordóñez and the conservatives (''serviles'' or ''timbucos'') led by Crisanto Sacasa y Parodi. This chaotic situation is evidenced by the existence of simultaneous Governing Boards in León,

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

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and

El Viejo El Viejo is a city and a municipality in the Chinandega department of Nicaragua. El Viejo is a small city near the city of Chinandega, noted for its particular gastronomic specialties, which include ''rosquillas'' ( a type of doughnut), ''cajet ...

. In Granada, the situation was more complex because, between 20 April 1823 and 4 January 1825, two contradictory Boards coexisted. The second, also known as the Revolutionary Government Junta was presided over by Ordóñez and was also made up of Raimundo Tiffer, Ignacio Marenco, Solano Castrillo, Manuel Sandoval and Nicolás de la Rocha Zapata. Ordóñez ruled as the ''de facto'' Supreme Chief of Nicaragua from August 1824 to 4 January 1825.

Inspector General of Arms

After the pacification of the state of Nicaragua and before returning to Guatemala,

Manuel José Arce Manuel José Arce y Fagoaga (1 January 1787 – 14 December 1847) was a decorated salvadoran General and president of the Federal Republic of Central America from 1825 to 1829, followed by Francisco Morazán. Background Manuel José Arce was ...

sent Bishop Nicolás García Jerez, a monarchist opposed to Independence, and the priest Policarpo Irigoyen into exile, both in rebellion against the federalist government of Manuel Arzú. Ordóñez was offered the position of Inspector General of Arms of the

Federal Republic of Central America The Federal Republic of Central America ( es, República Federal de Centroamérica), originally named the United Provinces of Central America ( es, Provincias Unidas del Centro de América), and sometimes simply called Central America, in it ...

. Once installed in Guatemala, Ordóñez became Inspector General of Arms for Central America and a member of the Federal Government's War Advisory Board. Being elected President of the Federal Republic, Arce yielded to the flattery of the Guatemalan oligarchy, and on 6 September 1825, he took Juan Burrindia, Head of State of Guatemala, prisoner and dissolved the Federal Legislative Assembly. All this earned him the contempt of Ordóñez, who ridiculed him during an official banquet. This incident sealed the enmity between the two, President Arce accused Ordóñez of conspiracy and imprisoned him.

Later life and death

At the beginning of 1827, Ordóñez escaped from prison fleeing to

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by ...

where he joined the Guatemalan liberals. In March he was designated as one of the heads of the federalist army that advanced into Guatemala. On 23 March, the first confrontation took place and he demonstrated his mettle by being the only leader who resisted in his position, guaranteeing the withdrawal of the other troops. He died in 1839 in San Salvador, receiving official honors in recognition of his services to the federal cause in Central America. His remains rest in the church of San Esteban.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ordonez, Jose Anacleto 1778 births 1839 deaths Nicaraguan military personnel