Nicaragua: Update to Response to Information Request NIC11554 of 24 August 1992 on arrests, killings, harassment of and abuses against former contras
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 August 1996 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | NIC24302.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Nicaragua: Update to Response to Information Request NIC11554 of 24 August 1992 on arrests, killings, harassment of and abuses against former contras, 1 August 1996, NIC24302.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ab035c.html [accessed 3 June 2023] |
| 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. |
Information on the above-mentioned subject can be found in the DIRB's June 1994 Question and Answer Series paper entitled Nicaragua: Update.
The following Responses to Information Requests provide additional information on the situation of former contras since 1992. Response to Information Request NIC22003.E of 10 October 1995 describes the presence of former contras and Sandinistas in the Nicaraguan police forces and army. Response to Information Request NIC16348.E of 14 February 1994 gives general information on re-armed groups made up of Sandinistas and former contras throughout Nicaragua. Response to Information Request NIC24080.E of 26 July 1996 provides a detailed description of these armed groups and where they operate in the country. Response to Information Request NIC19884.E of 21 February 1995 refers to special operations led by the army to fight gangs of former contras and soldiers, for the most part in rural areas. Response to Information Request NIC20244.E of 18 May 1995 provides information on the Asociación de Confiscados (ANC), and mentions that some members of the ANC have been closely associated with the former contras.
The United States Department of State Country Report for 1995 on Nicaragua states that since President Chamorro took office in 1990,
the focus of international attention has been on safeguarding the human rights of former members of the Nicaraguan Resistance (RN) since most human rights observers, including the Sandanista-led Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), acknowledge that more ex-RN than FSLN members have been homicide victims (1996, 478).
Additionally, Amnesty International Report 1996 describes a 6 January 1995 incident in which 13 former contras were killed in Cuesta la Marañosa, Wiwili, department of Jinoteca, apparently by the army (1996, 236).
Finally, former contra Ciriaco Palacios, also known as "Charro," was reportedly killed on 2 June 1996 during fighting between armed bands and the Nicaraguan Army in the Zapote region of Jinotega Province (Tico Times 14 June 1996).
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.
References
Amnesty International. 1996. Amnesty International Report 1996. New York: Amnesty International USA.
Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1995. 1996. United States Department of State. Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office.
Tico Times [San José]. 14 June 1996. "Gang Leader Dies in Combat." (Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex]. 10-23 June 1996, Vol. 11, No. 10)
Attachment
Tico Times [San José]. 14 June 1996. "Gang Leader Dies in Combat." (Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex]. 10-23 June 1996, Vol. 11, No. 10, p. 10)
