Information on the requested subject could not be found among the sources consulted within the time constraints of this information request.

Please find attached two articles that provide background on the governing Liberal Alliance, with references to groups of Nicaraguan exiles in Miami as being financially powerful and having links to the current president of Nicaragua, Arnoldo Aleman. However, these articles do not indicate whether these groups belong or have formed an organization with the above-mentioned name.

For information on the demobilization of armed opposition or contra groups inside and outside Nicaragua after the election of the Chamorro government in 1990, please consult previous Responses to Information Requests and other DIRB documents available through the Refinfo database.

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.

Attachments

Notisur-Latin American Political Affairs [Albuquerque, New Mex.]. 3 November 1995. "Nicaragua: Are Arnoldo Aleman & the Liberal Alliance Headed for an Electoral Victory?" (NEXIS)

Swiss Review of World Affairs. 2 December 1996. "Nicaragua's Rocky Road to Democracy." (NEXIS)

Additional Sources Consulted

Central America NewsPak [Austin, Tex.]. Fortnightly.

Central America Report [Guatemala City]. Weekly.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS). Daily Report.

Latin America Regional Reports: Central America & the Caribbean [London]. Monthly.

Latin American Weekly Report [London]. Weekly.

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. Yearly.

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. Weekly.

News From Americas Watch [New York]. Monthly.

Political Handbook of the World. Yearly. Edited by Arthur S. Banks. New York: CSA Publications.

Revolutionary and Dissident Movements: An International Guide. 1991. Edited by Henry W. Degenhartd. London: Longman.

Material from the Indexed Media Review (IMR) or country files containing articles and reports from diverse sources (primarily dailies and periodicals) from the Weekly Media Review.

Internet, Global NewsBank, Nexis, IRB, USINS and UNHCR databases.

Note on contacting foreign diplomatic representatives in Canada:

Embassies and high commissions are not usually called for security-related questions such as location of military bases or the functioning of secret services. Ability to obtain information from diplomatic representatives depends on availability of information and cooperation from individual countries.

Note on oral sources:

Oral sources are usually contacted when documentary sources have been exhausted. However, oral sources must agree to be quoted in a publicly available Response to Information Request. If they refuse, the Response will read "no information currently available." Contacting oral sources is also subject to time constraints; for example, there are periods of the year when academics are unavailable.

Note:

This list is not exhaustive. Subject- and country-specific books available in the Resource Centre are not included.