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Agents of State Security have rounded up leaders of
political, private sector, labor, and Church organizations,
subjecting them to interrogations and threatening further
action should they fail to observe the new prohibitions. One
labor group, the Nicaraguan Workers Central (CTN) -- associated
with the Social Christian Party -- has been closed down and
three of its officials arrested and interrogated; political
leaders have been warned against the issuance of public
statements or holding of political meetings; and thousands of
worshippers have been prevented by force from attending masses
given by Cardinal Obando. Over a hundred persons have been
rounded up and paraded as the centerpiece in the Sandinista
campaign against the "internal front," another justification
offered by the Sandinistas for their actions against the
public. The policies now in force are clear evidence of the
regine's totalitarian goals, and underscore the growing level
of popular alienation from the regime.
A sinister backdrop to these actions has been provided by
the revelations of a recent Nicaraguan defector, Jose Alvaro
Baldizon. The former chief investigator of the Special
Investigations Commission, an immediate subordinate to
Interior Minister Tomas Borge, Baldizon has offered detailed
information, as well as supporting documents, indicating that
the Sandinista regime engages in massive violations of human
rights as a matter of policy. According to investigations
carried out by Baldizon himself, the regime has sanctioned the
summary execution of hundreds of Nicaraguans perceived to be
"potential enemies of the revolution."
Specific cases investigated by Baldizon concern the
application of "special measures' (execution) to 150 Miskito
Indians and 300 campesinos, religious activists and political
opponents. The most well-known of the Sandinistas' victims was
Jorge Salazar, former Vice President of the Superior Council of
Private Enterprise (COSEP), who was gunned down by State
Security in 1980. Baldizon stated that weapons were placed in
Salazar's vehicle after he was killed to lend credence to the
charge that Salazar was planning armed insurrection in
Managua. Baldizon further states that the policy of
assassination has now been codified in a strict and
highly-secret system of regulations governing the selection and
execution of "potential enemies, authorization for which must
be obtained in writing from Interior Minister Borge or his
first deputy, Luis Carrion.
Baldizon's charges do not stand alone. They are
complemented by a considerable body of information concerning
Sandinista atrocities, some of which confirms the specific
cases cited by Baldizon. The following examples represent only
a small part of the information available on such abuses:
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"ocrText": "-19-\nAgents of State Security have rounded up leaders of\npolitical, private sector, labor, and Church organizations,\nsubjecting them to interrogations and threatening further\naction should they fail to observe the new prohibitions. One\nlabor group, the Nicaraguan Workers Central (CTN) -- associated\nwith the Social Christian Party -- has been closed down and\nthree of its officials arrested and interrogated; political\nleaders have been warned against the issuance of public\nstatements or holding of political meetings; and thousands of\nworshippers have been prevented by force from attending masses\ngiven by Cardinal Obando. Over a hundred persons have been\nrounded up and paraded as the centerpiece in the Sandinista\ncampaign against the \"internal front,\" another justification\noffered by the Sandinistas for their actions against the\npublic. The policies now in force are clear evidence of the\nregine's totalitarian goals, and underscore the growing level\nof popular alienation from the regime.\nA sinister backdrop to these actions has been provided by\nthe revelations of a recent Nicaraguan defector, Jose Alvaro\nBaldizon. The former chief investigator of the Special\nInvestigations Commission, an immediate subordinate to\nInterior Minister Tomas Borge, Baldizon has offered detailed\ninformation, as well as supporting documents, indicating that\nthe Sandinista regime engages in massive violations of human\nrights as a matter of policy. According to investigations\ncarried out by Baldizon himself, the regime has sanctioned the\nsummary execution of hundreds of Nicaraguans perceived to be\n\"potential enemies of the revolution.\"\nSpecific cases investigated by Baldizon concern the\napplication of \"special measures' (execution) to 150 Miskito\nIndians and 300 campesinos, religious activists and political\nopponents. The most well-known of the Sandinistas' victims was\nJorge Salazar, former Vice President of the Superior Council of\nPrivate Enterprise (COSEP), who was gunned down by State\nSecurity in 1980. Baldizon stated that weapons were placed in\nSalazar's vehicle after he was killed to lend credence to the\ncharge that Salazar was planning armed insurrection in\nManagua. Baldizon further states that the policy of\nassassination has now been codified in a strict and\nhighly-secret system of regulations governing the selection and\nexecution of \"potential enemies, authorization for which must\nbe obtained in writing from Interior Minister Borge or his\nfirst deputy, Luis Carrion.\nBaldizon's charges do not stand alone. They are\ncomplemented by a considerable body of information concerning\nSandinista atrocities, some of which confirms the specific\ncases cited by Baldizon. The following examples represent only\na small part of the information available on such abuses:"
}