For my prison-visit-story to make some more sense, I am going to try to give you a brief snapshot of some of Nicaragua's recent history... please bear with me.
As seems to be fairly standard for the Latin American countries that we have visited, the last 100 years of Nicaraguan history is a complicated combination of dictators, puppet presidents, coups, rebellions and American interference.
The political figure that overshadows almost the entire 20th century is the Somoza dictatorial dynasty. This first began in 1936 with Somoza Garcia (I'll call him Somoza #1) taking the reigns of power, and from then on, whether directly or through puppet presidents and rigged elections, the Somozas (#1,2 and 3) ran Nicaragua until their overthrow in 1979 by the Sandinistas. Somoza #1 can claim such accomplishments as:
* orchestrating the assassination of Augusto Sandino in 1934 (now a national hero, Sandino led the rebels fighting against the intense American control of Nicaragua - which meant fighting against the American Marines until their withdrawal in 1933 and then government's American-trained-and-armed National Guard)
* in the early 1940's stealing the landholdings of the many wealthy Germans who had been in Nicaragua since the late 1800's on ranches, coffee and banana plantations. This ended up giving the Somoza family direct ownership of land covering the same area as the entire country of El Salvador
* being assassinated by the poet Rigoberto Lopez Perez in Leon in 1956. Perez left a note describing his plan, disguised himself as a waiter to get into the party Somoza #1 was attending... then shot him. Perez was immediately killed, and has been a national hero ever since.
* creating the Coyotepe Prison in 1937. This is the prison that I visited yesterday, and is one of the most terrible places I have ever set foot in.
After the assassination of Somoza #1, Somoza #2 ran the country as either president (or direct controller of a few puppet presidents) and Somoza #3 was the head of the National Guard. The National Guard continued to be trained and armed by the US, which was a strong supporter of the Somoza regime, because they were considered an anti-communist force in Latin America. The Somoza's seemed to get progressively more brutal and repressive, with Somoza #3 having the legacy of being the most terrible of the bunch of them.
By the time Somoza #3 came around (after Somoza #2 died from a heart attack in 1967) there were 3 secret prisons throughout western Nicaragua. One of which was Coyotepe. This place was originally a fort built in 1893 for the civil war that at that time was being fought between the Liberals and the Conservatives. At that time it basically consisted of a stone perimeter wall punctuated by several small towers. In 1937 it was "remodeled" by Somoza #1. The outer wall remained, but inside the walls 2 underground levels were created and filled with cells. There was a third level that is now closed up due to a collapsed tunnel, which was rumored to have been used for everything from storing munitions to bodies of prisoners. Depending on the cell size there was between 15 and 50 prisoners in each cell, where they were fed one meal a day of beans, and slept on the concrete floor. In the rainy season the floors were typically covered with water and dirt that streamed in through the smalled barred windows. To pass light into the second level cells there was a 15 ft long tunnel that was perhaps 3 or 4 feet square that ran on an angle from the top of the cell wall up to the ground level. There were bars on the cell-side of the tunnel, and a gate at the ground level. That was because these were used as a form of particularly cruel imprisonment. Up to 5 people at a time were placed here, for 1 week with no food. They were unable to stand because the tunnel was only a few feet high and the floor was on a 45 degree angle. They could not lie down because there were too many of them in the small space, so they had to spend the entire week hunched over their knees.
On the second level, in a windowless area that was almost completely dark, are the "special cells". This is where prisoners would be brought to be tortured. There were cuffs on the walls that would hold the prisoner's hands above their head while their captors utilized a vast array of gruesome techniques to extract information. They were cut, whipped, burned with cigarettes, had their fingernails torn out and more terrible things I need not describe here. The holding cells in this area were about 6 feet high, with a metal grate for a ceiling. The guards would make use of this "birds eye view" to hurl all kinds of filth and abuse down upon the prisoners who waited there for their turn to be chained to the wall at the end of the hallway.
It is not known how many unfortunate souls lost their lives in this awful place. But to give you a sense for the scale of what was happening, the first level could hold 400 prisoners, the second level could hold 200, people were rarely released, and this prison was in active use for over 50 years.
I wish that I could say the place was closed down when the Sandinistas overthrew the government of Somoza #3 in 1979... but that was not to be the case. It was to be used for the next 10 years - throughout the American funded Contra War. The first act of the Sandinistas was to make a switch: in Coyotepe the guards became the prisoners and the prisoners became the guards. Though this may seem like just punishment, even worse atrocities happened then than ever before. Revenge, though immensely appealing, did not heal. So, from the 1979 Sandinista take-over until the 1989 change of government and the end of the Contra War, Coyotepe was still a place of horror. Something that is particularly frightening, is that there is a very real possibility it will be re-opened if another war broke out here in Nicaragua.
In the early 90's it was abandoned for some time. People did venture there - stealing the iron bars, painting graffiti on the walls and holding Satanic rituals in the darkness. Government after government have stated they want to put money into turning it into a museum and memorial, but thus far the talk has not been backed by any action. Perhaps it is better this way - raw, rough and real - not glossed over or made more palatable (or more flattering to the current Sandinista government). Leaving the prisoner's desperate graffiti and (possible) bloodstains on the walls, having no extra lights to drive away the bats, moths and gloom, gives this place the ability to make a deep and non-too-gentle impact.
It is now being cared for again, not by the ever-talking-rarely-acting government, but by the Boy Scouts of Nicaragua. They are incredibly well informed guides, and keep the place under 24 hour watch to keep away those who are interested in seances or spray painting, drinking or drugs. That dedication amazes me - this is the last place I would want to be alone at night. Our guide told us some of his colleagues claim to have seen ghosts. He's not 100% about how real the ghosts they saw were - but he knows that he heard foot steps on the lower level stairs when there was definitely nobody else there. He also told of Christian pastors who have visited this place, and sensed evil spirits there. I for one, would not dispute what they sensed - this place embodies the evil that we can inflict on each other in the name of a political cause, quest for power or search for revenge. Many of the stories the guide tells are from those who were held prisoner here - who came back to see it empty - and shared their stories through their tears. So, here I have passed some of those stories on to you.
Coyotepe - a dark place that embodies some dramatic examples of the brokenness that exists in this damaged creation. It is not a fun visit, it is not a pleasant story. But, it we ignore these things and pretend these stories never happened, then how will we be prepared to act when our time comes to make a difference?
For some photos of my visit to Coyotepe, click on this link:
