Information on the Benjamin Zeledon battalion was very scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. In correspondence with the Research Directorate on 12 March 2004, a regent professor at the University of North Texas who has studied and written extensively on Nicaragua politics and the 1982 Revolution provided the following information. He confirmed that the battalion was involved with the Sandinistas, but did not have any further details concerning the activities of the group. He also stated that he knew of no war crimes or crimes against humanity committed by the battalion during the insurrection nor did he recall "reading about any problems of that magnitude." According to the professor,

[b]y and large, the Sandinistas tended to be cautious about not alienating the civilian population, upon whom they depended for assistance or at least quiescence. The FSLN [Sandinista Front of National Liberation] tended to target military and other security force targets rather than civilian targets. The war crimes I know of that were committed during this period, as far as I could tell, were carried out by the Sandinistas' opponents, the government forces (Nicaraguan National Guard). There were numerous indiscriminate attacks against civilian targets by the government armed forces, including artillery and aerial incendiary bombings of markets and towns.

In a telephone interview on 29 March 2004, a professor at Ohio University suspected that the Benjamin Zeledon battalion was one of six fronts that composed the Sandinista guerrilla, but he could not confirm this information. The consultation of several major human rights organizations revealed no further references to the battalion.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate 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. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Professor, Department of Political Science, Ohio University, Athens. 29 March 2004. Telephone interview.

Regent Professor, Department of Political Science, University of North Texas, Denton. 12 March 2004. Correspondence.

A professor at the Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales in Guatemala City, a professor of history at Indiana University, a professor of history and a professor of sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, a professor of history at the University of Kansas, a professor of political science at Southwestern University, and a professor of political science at the University of Michigan

Internet Sites, including: Amnesty International (AI), The Economist, European Country of Origin Information Network (ECOI), Human Rights Watch (HRW), United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), US State Department, World News Connections (WNC)
Publications:

Nicaragua: Country Guide, Nicaragua: Revolution in the Family