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Nicaragua NATIONAL SECURITY
Armed Forces: In 1993 consisted of Sandinista
People's
Army (EPS), with ground, air, and small naval elements.
Reduced
to 15,200 personnel from peak strength of 97,000 during
1980s.
Mandatory military service and reserve and militia forces
eliminated in 1990. EPS nominally subordinate to civilian
authority but in practice enjoys substantial autonomy
within
political system; maintains strong links to FSLN.
Major military Units: 13,500-member army with
ground
forces organized into six regional commands; 500-member
naval
element with sixteen patrol boats; and 1,200 member air
element
organized into one squadron.
Military Equipment: Most weaponry supplied by
former
Soviet Union, with some older items purchased from United
States
prior to 1979. Some naval craft acquired from People's
Democratic
Republic of Korea.
Defense Budget: Estimated at US$210 million in
1993,
about 14 percent of GDP.
Internal Security Forces: 11,000-member National
Police, formerly Sandinista Police, under Ministry of
Government.
Data as of December 1993
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