Juan Rafael Mora Porras
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||
Juan Rafael Mora Porras was President of Costa Rica from 1849 to 1859.
He first assumed the presidency following José María Castro Madriz's resignation and was subsequently reelected in 1853 and 1859.
In 1856 he led his country's forces in Central America's war against William Walker and the US filibuster regime in Nicaragua. In spite of earning acclaim as a national hero for his efforts in that endeavor, he was overthrown in a coup d'état in August 1859. He fled to El Salvador, where his supporters convinced him to launch an attack on Costa Rica and recoup the presidency. After initial victories, in which he succeeded in seizing the port of Puntarenas, he was defeated, captured, and, on 30 September 1860, brought before a firing squad.