'Government Triumvirate') officially ruled Nicaragua between 1972 and 1974, though effective power was in the hands of strongman Anastasio Somoza.
In 1971 Somoza signed the "Kupia-Kumi Pact" with Fernando Agüero's Social Conservative Party that allowed him to stand for reelection in 1974.
Somoza would retain his post as the National Guard commander to ensure no loss of real power.
The members of the Liberal-Conservative Junta were general Roberto Martínez Lacayo and Alfonso Lovo Cordero (Nationalist Liberals) and Fernando Agüero (Conservative).
On 23 December 1972, an earthquake struck the nation's capital, Managua, killing about 5,000 people and virtually destroying the city.