Dokument #1244086
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
The United States Department of State
Country Reports 1993 states that the executive is "legally
responsible for overseeing ... the National Police" but adds that
"Nicaragua's security forces continue to be led by Sandinista
officers who operated with substantial institutional and legal
autonomy" (1994, 503). The statement is identical to one made in
the previous year's edition of Country Reports 1992, on
which the attached section of the Lawyers Committee for Human
Rights Critique provides some comments. The Critique
for Country Reports 1993 is not yet available to the
DIRB.
The Critique states, among other
things, that "the last year has seen the increased divergence of
positions and action between the army and police on the one hand
and the Sandinista party on the other" (July 1993, 266).
In September 1993 one report stated that
the National Police "is still controlled and staffed primarily by
Sandinistas" (Central America Report 24 Sept. 1993, 281). In
December 1993 Human Rights Watch reported that "the National Police
reacted more aggressively against striking unionists and ex-army
officers (sometimes armed) during 1993," adding that this occurred
at the same time the police underwent changes, "including replacing
older Sandinista figures with younger ones" (Dec. 1993, 123). The
same document, which is attached, also provides brief references to
the relationship between the Chamorro government and its security
forces.
Changes in the security service are
currently taking place; a number of Sandinista officers were
removed from the police, its head was replaced, and the police will
now fall under the newly created Vice-Ministry for Citizens'
Security (Criminal JusticeThe Americas Feb.-Mar. 1994, 11).
This development follows the late 1993 creation of a new office of
Intelligence Affairs, subordinated to the executive and with a
broad mandate to protect constitutional order and national
security, which will replace the army's Information Directorate
(Central America Report 29 Oct. 1993, 322). The attached
documents provide information on the new agency's mandate and on
its head, a non-Sandinista civilian.
In addition to the above, various sources
have reported that since the first major demobilization of "contra"
forces, certain areas of the country have come under the
jurisdiction of a police force formed by former contras. References
to the more recent integration of former contras into the national
police force and the granting of police control over some areas of
the country to former contras can be found in the attached
documents. One of the attachments provides information on a new
anti-narcotics law and states that "the Nicaraguan government
allows the [United States] Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
free reign in the country" (Central America Report 10 June
1994, 4).
This response was prepared after
researching publicly accessible information currently available to
the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does
not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular
claim to refugee status or asylum.
Central America Report
[Guatemala]. 10 June 1994. "Nicaragua: New Anti-Narcotics Law."
. 24 September 1993. "Nicaragua: Taxing
Violence."
Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices for 1993. 1994. United States Department of State.
Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
Criminal Justice (CJ)
International [Chicago]. February-March 1993. Vol. 6, No. 1.
"Nicaragua: Police Shakeup."
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
(LCHR). July 1993. Critique: Review of the U.S. Department of
State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992. New
York: LCHR.
Human Rights Watch. December 1993.
Human Rights Watch World Report 1994. New York: Human Rights
Watch.
Barricada [Managua, in Spanish].
16 October 1993. Noel Irias. "President Creates Directorate of
Intelligence Affairs." (FBIS-LAT-93-199 18 Oct. 1993, p. 44)
Central America Report
[Guatemala]. 10 June 1994. "Nicaragua: New Anti-Narcotics Law," p.
4.
. 27 May 1994. "Nicaragua: Occupations
and Violence," p. 8.
. 11 March 1994. "Government-Northern
Front 3-80 Accord," p. 2.
. 29 October 1993. "New Intelligence
Apparatus," p. 322.
Criminal Justice (CJ)
International [Chicago]. February-March 1993. Vol. 6, No. 1.
"Nicaragua: Police Shakeup," p. 11.
Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 24
September 1992. Paul Jeffrey. "Chamorro Sacks Sandinista Police
Chief," p. 3.
Lawyers Committee for Human Rights
(LCHR). July 1993. Critique: Review of the U.S. Department of
State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1992. New
York: LCHR, pp. 266-67.
Human Rights Watch. December 1993.
Human Rights Watch World Report 1994. New York: Human Rights
Watch, pp. 123-24.
Nicanet. 16 May 1994. "Nicaragua:
Police Violence Charged." (WEB)