When Zelaya was finally removed in a 1909 coup led by Juan José Estrada, Chamorro became Chairman of the Constituent Assembly and leader of the country's Conservative Party.

As a reward for his assistance in defeating the revolt against President Adolfo Díaz, Chamorro was appointed Nicaragua's Minister to the United States.

In 1926, he led a successful coup to overthrow Solórzano, but his new government failed to win American support[3] and faced a civil war, and he eventually resigned in favor of Adolfo Díaz.

Originally opposed to the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza García, he eventually reached a compromise in 1950 (The Pact of the Generals[1]), whereby the Conservative Party was granted a number of seats in the Congress.

A portrait of Chamorro appears as a plot element in the novel Spalovač mrtvol by the Czech writer Ladislav Fuks, published in 1967.