The regime permitted nominal political dissent, and, in 1947, agreed to elections, hoping to mollify both United States and local opponents, but quickly deposed the winning candidate in a coup d'état that brought strong disapproval from the United States.
Succeeded in the presidency by one son, Luis Somoza Debayle, he was succeeded as head of the National Guard by another, Anastasio Somoza Debayle, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point.