Patriotism motivates Nicaraguan militia
Defense groups
take many forms
By Debbie
Howlett
(X I hr imerjld
Emerald
editor Debbie
Howlett recent
ly returned
from an 11-day
trip to
Nicaragua. This
is the fourth in
a series of five reports.
The road to jalapa, a small Nicaraguan
town about 150 miles from Managua, is
rough and winding. Nestled at the foot of a
small mountain range, jalapa seems a lot
like most Nicaraguan farming communities,
peaceful and quiet.
The serenity is deceiving. There have
been reports of battles in and near this
town that sits about 15 miles from the Hon
duras border. Some of the fighting has
been reported to have occured as recently
as Sept. 15, just two days after the delega
tion of women from Oregon traveled there.
But the women did not see a war torn
jalapa. Most were suprised at the lack of
visible evidence that fighting occurs in the
region.
Most Nicaraguans consider do not con
sider Jalapa to be the front, they consider
Esteli, a town 50 miles closer to Managua,
the front for contra activities.
ARMED ESCORTS
Everyone who ventures farther north, into
Jalapa and Ocotal, another town bordering
Honduras farther to the west, must have an
armed escort. In Esteli the women from
Oregon are met by a group of four militia
soldiers who will accompany them to
jalapa. Two of the women elect to stay in
Esteli, rather than taking a risk farther into
the war zone. In Ocotal, two more armed
guards are met for the trip to jalapa.
The contras fighting near the Honduras
Nicaragua border are called "somocistas,"
a faction of about 10,000 National Guard
smen from the regime of President
Anastasio Somoza. The somacistas, who at
tack mostly during the evening and night,
receive aid from the United States, and are
Photo by Debbie Howlett
There are over one million armed Nicaraguans involved in the defense of their country.
given refuge by Honduras.
The women who make the trip to Jalapa
are told that to guarantee their safety, they
must be on the road, traveling back to Esteli
before three that afternoon. A visit with
farmers and a civilian defense group stret
ches past 3 p.m., to 4:30. When the women
are finally on the road back to Esteli the sun
is slowly sinking behind the mountains.
But signs of guerilla action are never
seen. The only military personnel the group
encounters is a convoy of 10 huge trucks
loaded with militia soldiers. But the convoy
is headed away from the border, back
toward Esteli.
ONE MILLION ARMED NICARAGUANS
The military structure in Nicaragua is
unlike most other countries. Over 1 million
armed Nicaraguans are involved, one way
or another, in the defense of Nicaragua.
About 80 percent of those 1 million peo
ple are members of Committees for San
dinista Defense. These civilian groups, call
ed "neighborhood watch" groups by the
Sandinistas, are organized by the barrios in
which they live.
The groups patrol the barrios during the
night to protect the neighborhoods from
"undesirables." They are armed with
government issued automatic weapons but
are not considered connected to the EPS,
the official Sandinista army. Members of
the CDS also distribute ration coupons to
residents of the neighborhood.
There is no real criteria for becoming a
member of a CDS group, and although the
Sandinistas require that CDS members be
at least 16 years old, many of those who
carry weapons look much younger.
The potential for abuse by members of
the CDS seems unlimited. The citizens who
support the Sandinistas argue that although
the potential is there, abuses do not occur.
Nicaraguans opposed to the Sandinista
government say that many abuses do occur.
According to a Managua resident, who
refused to give her name for fear of retribu
tion, the CDS may withhold ration cards or
even physically harrass people they feel to
be less patriotic than other residents in the
Continued on Page 17
Minister says Nicaragua wants to be on its own
By Debbie Howlett
Of the [mnild
Nora Astorga, Nicaragua's vice minister
for foreign affairs, made her mark with the
Sandinistas when she lured Vega Perez, a
general in then President Anastasio
Somoza's National Guard, into her
bedroom, got him undressed, and had him
murdered by three of her comrades.
In a biography compiled by Margaret
Randall, Astorga relates the events leading |
to Perez' death.
"The plan was for me to get him over to
my house on March 8 (1978)...I was to
disarm him without arousing his suspicion,
get him in a defenseless position, then grab
him and give the signal — a code word —
for the comrades to spring into action,"
writes Astorga.
The plan worked smoothly. Less than 90
minutes after entering Astorga's home,
Perez was dead. Astorga went into hiding in
the rural mountain areas after Perez' execu
tion, and resurfaced after the Somoza
government was overthrown. She was im
mediately appointed general minister of
finance.
Astorga characterizes Vega, whom the
Sandinistas called "Dog," as a "murderer"
and a "brutalizer of women." Vega, one of
Somoza's top level military leaders, was
responsible for the murder of "many peo
ple," according to Astorga.
RISING TO THE TOP
Astorga has risen to the top levels of San
dinista government for many other reasons.
She is open and frank, and considered to be
very competent. Before her appointment as
vice minister, Astorga served as chief pro
secutor of war criminals. Her office pro
secuted more than 6,000 "somocistas,"
most of whom were either deported or
given minimal, by Sandinista standards, jail
sentences.
Astorga describes her family as "petit
burgeoise" cattle ranchers. She was
educated in a Catholic High School, attend
ed nearly two years of college in the United
States and then finished school, receiving a
degree in law, at the Managua Catholic
University.
She first became involved with the FSLN
in 1969 running an underground
"safehouse."
Astorga says she meets with as many as
four delegations of North Americansm
among them Senators and Congressmen, a
week and that one of her primary goals is
"warmer relations with the Ambassador of
the United States.” She says she believes
that everyone who comes to visit her is a
"potential friend" of the Sandinistas.
However, some North Americans have
refused to visit with her.
Special U.S. envoy Richard Stone refused
to meet with Astorga during his visit.
Astorga says Stone was insulted by meeting
with such a low level official, and possibly
because Astorga is a woman.
FOREIGN POLICY
A great deal of attention is given to the
U.S. foreign policy in Central America, but
little is given to the other side of foreign
relations, Astorga says.
In meeting with the delegation of Oregon
women, Astorga asserts that the Sandinistas
have tried to maintain friendly relations
with the United States, but that the United
States wants relations on U.S. terms.
"We're a legal government. We didn't ask
for war from the U.S. — they're trying to
overthrow us with anything they can,"
Astorga says.
"We don't have military
pacts with any coun
try. . . we really want to be
our own nation."
— Nora Astorga
"The U.S. has never been able to unders
tand Latin America," Astorga says. "The
U.S. is always on the wrong side."
Nicaragua's international relations are
not all as Bad as those with the U.S. The
Sandinistas receive aid from Western
Europe as well as the Soviet Union and
Cuba.
But Astorga says that aid from western
socialist, and eastern communist countries
does not mean that Nicaragua will take a
turn toward communist rule.
"We don't have military pacts with any
country([|we really want to be our own na
tion," Astorga says. "We didn't struggle just
to change. We are crazy enough to want to
be independent."
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