[1] Born to a wealthy, politically-connected family, he began college in the United States but returned to Nicaragua, first joining a radical Catholic group then the FSLN.

[2] As a child, Carrión was an excellent student, named top sixth-grader in the country in 1964, and eventually becoming valedictorian at his Catholic high school in Managua.

[1] While in the US, he participated in Vietnam War protests, and was influenced by the episodes of racism he witnessed as well as the broad disparities between the relative luxury in US and the severe poverty in Nicaragua.

[2] In April 1980, following the fall of the Somoza government in July 1979, Carrión became First Vice-Minister of the Interior,[2] serving until 1988 when he became Minister of Economy, Industry and Commerce, where he worked until the FSLN left office in 1990.

[4] He resigned the National Directorate and the FSLN party in 1995,[5] becoming one of the founders of the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) with Sergio Ramírez and Dora María Téllez.