Nicaragua: Origins and activities of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN); whether its members participated in war crimes or crimes against humanity; whether it still exists (1981-February 2000)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 10 February 2000 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | NIC33711.E |
| Reference | 2 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Nicaragua: Origins and activities of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN); whether its members participated in war crimes or crimes against humanity; whether it still exists (1981-February 2000), 10 February 2000, NIC33711.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad712c.html [accessed 19 October 2022] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
The Nicaraguan Democratic Force (Fuerza Democrática Nicaragüense, FDN), described by the Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR) as "the major contra military force" (1987, p.35), is variously reported to have been formed in 1981 or 1982 through the unification of a number of Honduras-based armed groups, including the Nicaraguan Democratic Revolutionary Alliance (ADREN) and the Nicaraguan Democratic Union (UDN) (CIA 8 Oct. 1998; Cato Institute 24 June 1986; CIIR 1987; National Security Archive 1998). Based in Honduras, its fighters reportedly first entered Nicaragua in July 1982 (ibid.; CIA 8 Oct. 1998).
In a book published in 1986, Shirley Christian, a reporter for the New York Times, reported that both the Argentinean government and the CIA were involved in the creation and support of the FDN. A report published in 1998 by the National Security Archive, a non-governmental research institute based in Washington, DC, also indicates that the FDN was created "through the efforts of the CIA and Argentina to unify several small exile groups." As well, the National Security Archive report claims that the FDN was "dominated" by former National Guard (Guardia Nacional, GN) officers, as does the Catholic Institute for International Relations (1987). In a 24 June 1986 report by the Cato Institute, an independent policy research foundation whose headquarters are in Washington, DC, the role of former GN officers in the FDN is also discussed:
The most disturbing feature of the FDN is the pervasive presence of officers from Somoza's security police and National Guard in the military command structure. Some estimates suggest that such officers constitute 95 percent of the field and regional commanders. Other estimates are lower, but there is no question that military figures from the old regime predominate.
Both Shirley Christian and the National Security Archive stated that the FDN's first leader, Colonel Enrique Bermúdez, was a former GN member and the last military attaché to the United States under the Somoza government (NSA 1998; Christian 1986). The CIA report provides further information on Bermúdez:
Bermudez was ousted as the FDN's Chief of General Staff in late 1982 as part of the restructuring of the FDN, and he was then appointed the "Political-Military Coordinator" of the FDN Directorate with responsibility for oversight of the FDN's military organization. Nevertheless, he remained the de facto leader of the FDN military organization. In January 1983, he identified himself as the FDN directorate member responsible for military affairs and effectively the "Commander-in-Chief" of FDN forces. In February 1984, the FDN General Staff was abolished and replaced by a combined Civil-Military command with Adolfo Calero as Commander-in-Chief and Enrique Bermudez as Chief, Military Affairs (8 Oct. 1998).
The National Security Archive, citing a US Defence Intelligence Agency report, described the FDN as the "largest, best organized and most effective of the anti-government insurgent groups" (1998). The FDN claimed to have 18,000 individuals under arms in December 1985, 10,000 of whom were in Nicaragua (Christian 1986, p.196), with "most rank-and-file soldiers" coming from Nicaragua's "peasant class" (Cato Institute 24 June 1986).
Little information could be found on FDN operations among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, according to Amnesty International reports published between 1985 and 1987, FDN forces were implicated in the detention, torture and execution of numerous individuals in Honduras and Nicaragua. In its 1985 country report on Nicaragua, Amnesty International stated that
Some prisoners were reportedly taken by opposition forces to bases outside Nicaragua but FDN forces were more frequently reported to have killed captives on the spot or after brief field interrogations, sometimes in the presence of assembled local inhabitants.
This information is supported by the CIIR's 1987 report, which stated, citing the testimony of a former contra before the International Court of Justice in 1985, that
FDN units would arrive at an undefended village, assemble all the residents in the town square and then proceed to kill - in full view of the others - all persons suspected of working for the Nicaraguan government or the FSLN, including the police, local militia members, party members, health workers, teachers, and farmers from government-sponsored cooperatives. In this atmosphere, it was not difficult to persuade those able-bodied men left alive to return with the FDN units to their base camps in Honduras and enlist in the force.
The FDN was reported to have received funding from the American government (Cato Institute 24 June 1986; Christian 1986; National Security Archive 1998). According to the Cato Institute, the FDN received the "bulk of US assistance" to anti-Sandinista armed groups (24 June 1986; NSA 1998). The National Security Archive further stated that the FDN received funding from the American government until 1988, when "military aid to the Contras was finally terminated" (1998).
In 1986, the San Jose Mercury News claimed that individuals with ties to the FDN were involved in drug trafficking in the United States (Seattle Times 3 Oct. 1996; US Justice Department Dec. 1997). In a December 1997 report, the US Justice Department stated that "it is undisputed that individuals like" Oscar Danilo Blandon and Norwin Meneses, both of whom had ties to the FDN, were "convicted of drug trafficking, either in the United States or Central America" (ibid.).
No reports of FDN activity following the electoral defeat of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in 1990 could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, according to media reports, a new political movement was formed in Nicaragua in 1999 under the name of Nicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN) (La Nación 11 Mar. 1999; La Prensa 11 Feb. 1999). This new organization is led by Javier Rivas Somoza, grandson of former Nicaraguan president Anastasio Somoza, and, according to the Weekly News Update of the Americas, is "expected to attract former National Guard members, ex-contras" (2 Feb. 1999).
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.
Amnesty International (AI). 1987. Amnesty International Report 1987. New York: Amnesty International.
_____. 1986. Amnesty International Report 1986. New York: Amnesty International.
_____. 1985. Amnesty International Report 1985. New York: Amnesty International.
Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR). 1987. Right to Survive: Human Rights in Nicaragua. London: Catholic Institute for International Relations.
Cato Institute. 24 June 1986. Ted Galen Carpenter. "US Aid to Anti-Communist Rebels: The 'Reagan Doctrine' and its Pitfalls." Policy Analysis. No. 74.
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), United States. 8 October 1998. Report of Investigations: Allegations of Connections between CIA and the Contras in Cocaine Trafficking to the United States, Volume II: The Contra Story.
Christian, Shirley. 1986. Nicaragua: Revolution in the Family. New York: Vintage.
Department of Justice, United States. December 1997. The CIA-Contra-Crack Cocaine Controversy: A Review of the Justice Department's Investigations and Prosecutions.
La Nación [San José]. 11 March 1999. "Partido de Somoza."
National Security Archive (NSA). 1998. "The United States and the Nicaraguan Revolution."
El Nuevo Diario [Managua]. 27 September 1999. Erving Sanchez Rizo. "Agitan estercolero de la historia: hasta Alemán amenazado."
La Prensa [Managua]. 11 February 1999. "Somoza Garcia's Grandson Runs for Public Office." (FBIS-LAT-99-0215 11 Feb. 1999/WNC)
The Seattle Times. 3 October 1996. Gary Webb and Pamela Kramer. "Affidavit Shows CIA knew of Contra Drug Ring."
Weekly Update on the Americas [Minneapolis]. 14 February 1999. "Somozas to Form Party."
