Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1932, The American Republics, Volume V
817.1051/731
The Minister in Nicaragua (Hanna) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 29.]
Sir: With reference to the Department’s instruction No. 475 of December 2, 1932, submitting observations for consideration in connection with the project of the proposed basic law for the Guardia Nacional, and supplementing my telegram No. 241, of December 16, 3 p.m., setting forth in a general way the extent to which the Department’s observations were embodied in the project, I have the honor to transmit herewith a copy of the project in its final form as submitted to me by General Matthews. Following out the procedure in this matter suggested by the Department in its instruction No. 354 of April 20, 1932, I again took up the subject with President Moncada a day or so ago and informed him that General Matthews was prepared to submit the project to the President. President Moncada [Page 910] replied that he would give it immediate attention to the end that it might be presented to Congress before it takes its holiday recess.
The project as submitted herewith does not embrace Part VII—Articles for the Government of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua. General Matthews expects to be able to furnish me the text of Part VII in the next day or so and I will transmit it to the Department without delay.
Respectfully yours,
Text of Proposed Legislation for Enactment by the Congress of Nicaragua to Constitute the Basic Law for the Foundation of the Military Structure of the Republic of Nicaragua
Be it enacted by the Cámara de Senadores and the Cámara de Diputados de Nicaragua en asemblea de Congreso:—
The provisions of this law shall constitute the basic legislation for the foundation of the Military structure of the Republic of Nicaragua; all existing laws, rules, decrees, regulations and orders now in effect which are in conflict with this law are hereby abrogated: Provided, That if this legislation be enacted prior to January 2, 1933, it shall become effective on January 2, 1933; if it be enacted on or subsequent to January 2, 1933, it shall become effective as provided for in Article 94 of the Constitution of the Republic of Nicaragua.
Part I—General Provisions
Article 1
The military force of the Republic of Nicaragua shall be known as the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, and it shall constitute the only armed national force of the Republic. Any additional armed forces which are now or may hereafter be authorized shall be as additions to the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua and shall become an integral part of that organization, but this provision shall not be interpreted to prohibit the organization of Municipal Police forces by municipalities or Hacienda Guards or Customs Guards or other forces dedicated solely to the enforcement of civil or criminal laws. Any such forces as now exist, or as shall hereafter be organized, except Hacienda Guards or Customs Guards, shall immediately become subject to authority and control of the Jefe Director of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua and be subject to the provisions of the Articles for the Government of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua in the same manner and to the same extent as the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua.
[Page 911]Article 2
The Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua is clothed with full power to preserve domestic peace and the security of individual rights. It shall have control of all arms and ammunition, military supplies and supervision of the traffic therein throughout the Republic. It shall have control of all fortifications, barracks, buildings, grounds, prisons, penitentiaries, vessels and other government property used by the Guardia.
Article 3
The President of the Republic of Nicaragua shall be ex officio Commanding General of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, and all orders from him pertaining to the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, except in cases of emergency, shall be delivered through the Minister of War to the Jefe Director for execution.
Article 4
The strength of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua shall be fixed annually by the Congress upon recommendation of the President of the Republic, and for the ensuing year is hereby fixed as follows:
Officers, Line
| Bank: | Number: | |
| Major General, Jefe Director | 1 | |
| Brigadier General, Chief of Staff | 1 | |
| Colonels | 4 | |
| Majors | 8 | |
| Captains | 26 | |
| First Lieutenants | 40 | |
| Second Lieutenants (Permanent) | 50 | |
| Second Lieutenants (Temporary) | 70 | |
| Total Line | 200 |
Medical
| Colonels, Medical Director | 1 | |
| Captains | 3 | |
| First Lieutenants | 3 | |
| Total Medical Commissioned | 7 | |
| Medical Contract Surgeons | 10 | |
| Dental Contract Surgeon | 1 | |
| Total Medical | 18 | |
| Aggregate | 218 |
Enlisted, Line
| Sergeants Major | 4 | |
| Quartermaster Sergeants | 15 | |
| First Sergeants | 34 | |
| Sergeants | 115 | |
| Corporals | 238 | |
| Trumpeters | 14 | |
| Privates | 1638 | |
| Total Line | 2058 |
Medical
| First Sergeants | 4 | |
| Sergeants | 10 | |
| Corporals | 31 | |
| Privates | 17 | |
| Total Medical | 62 |
Band
| Second Leader | 1 | |
| First Class Musicians | 10 | |
| Second Class Musicians | 5 | |
| Third Class Musicians | 14 | |
| Total Band | 30 | |
| Aggregate Enlisted | 2150 | |
| Total Officers And Enlisted | 2368 | |
| (Including ten (10) Medical Contract Surgeons and one (1) Medical Contract Dentist). |
Article 5
Moneys shall be appropriated annually to defray the expenses for pay, subsistence, allowances, equipment, uniforms, transportation, administration and other current expenses of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua. The proportionate monthly installments of the amount appropriated for the fiscal year shall be delivered on or before the first day of each month to the Jefe Director, Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, who shall make allotments from these moneys for the various needs of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua.
Article 6
The rates of pay of the various ranks, commissioned and enlisted, of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, shall be fixed annually by the Congress upon recommendation of the President of the Republic, and for the ensuing year is hereby fixed as follows:
[Page 913]Commissioned
| Major General, Jefe Director | — |
| Brigadier General, Chief of Staff | — |
| Colonel (Line and Medical) | — |
| Major (Line and Medical) | — |
| Captain (Line and Medical) | — |
| First Lieutenant (Line and Medical) | — |
| Second Lieutenant (Line and Medical) | — |
| Second Lieutenant (Temporary) | — |
| (Medical Contract Surgeons and Medical Dental Surgeons will receive one-half the regular pay of the ranks which are assigned to them). |
Enlisted
| Sergeant Major | — |
| First Sergeant (Line and Medical) | — |
| Quartermaster Sergeant | — |
| Sergeant (Line, Medical and Drum Major) | — |
| Corporal (Line and Medical) | — |
| Field Musician (Trumpeter) | — |
| Private (Line and Medical) | — |
| Private (Medical after three (3) months training) | — |
Band
| Director (Leader) | — |
| Sub-Director (second leader) | — |
| Musician, First Class | — |
| Musician, Second Class | — |
| Musician, Third Class | — |
| (The Drum Major of the band will be paid the pay of a Sergeant). |
Part II—Composition
Article 1
The Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua shall consist of a General Staff Corps, line combatant troops, the Medical Department, Quartermaster Department, Paymaster Department, and such other administrative staff departments as may hereafter be created by law, and of all officers and men who may be called into the military service as volunteers or auxiliaries and all such persons as are drafted into the military service of the Republic of Nicaragua in accordance with the authority contained in Article 142 of the Constitution of Nicaragua.
Article 2
The Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua shall at all times be organized so far as practicable into companies, battalions, regiments and brigades, and whenever the national interests so require and the President may deem it expedient, into divisions or larger units. For [Page 914] the purpose of administration and tactical control the territory of Nicaragua shall be divided into military areas and departments with an appropriate number of troops assigned to each in accordance with the existing situation.
Part III—The Corps of Officers
Article 1
All officers commissioned in the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua shall be commissioned as either line or medical officers.
Officers of the line shall be detailed in the number required for duty in the General Staff Corps, Quartermaster Department, Paymaster Department and other staff departments; while so serving they shall be designated as staff officers.
Article 2
All officers of the line of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua shall be carried on one lineal list and take rank and precedence in accordance therewith, the officer holding the commission of oldest date in his rank being senior officer in that rank, the officer holding the second oldest commission being the second senior officer in his rank and so on from the Jefe Director downward through the lineal list to the foot of the rank of second lieutenant. Officers of the same rank and date of commission shall take rank among themselves in accordance with the number stated on their commissions, a lower number being senior in rank to a higher number.
All officers of the Medical Department shall be carried on one lineal list and take rank and precedence therewith, the officer holding the commission of oldest date in his rank being senior officer of that rank, the officer holding the second oldest commission being the second senior officer in his rank and so on from the Medical Director downward through the lineal list to the foot of the rank of second lieutenant. Officers of the same rank and date of commission shall take rank and precedence among themselves in accordance with the number stated on their commissions, a lower number being senior to a higher number.
All officers commissioned in the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua after the passage of this act shall enter the Guardia as and be commissioned as second lieutenants and be placed at the foot of the lineal list in accordance with the dates of their commissions. Officers commissioned on the same date shall be placed on the lineal list and their commissions numbered in accordance with their relative standing as determined by a competitive examination.
[Page 915]Article 3
All promotions of officers from one rank to another shall be made by seniority after having demonstrated before an examining board appointed by the Jefe Director, their professional moral and physical fitness for promotion to the next higher rank. Should the senior officer of a rank due for promotion to the next higher rank fail to pass the prescribed examination, the next senior officer shall be examined to fill the existing vacancy. Examination of officers to fill the vacancy will be continued until an officer is found competent.
Article 4
Examining boards for the appointment or promotion of officers of the line and Medical Department shall be convened by the Jefe Director and shall be composed as follows:
- (a)
- In the case of examination for original appointment as a second lieutenant of the line, of three line officers.
- (b)
- In the case of examination for promotion of line officers, of three officers of the line senior in rank to the officer being examined.
- (c)
- In the case of examination for original appointment as a second lieutenant in the Medical Department, of three Medical officers.
- (d)
- In the case of examination for promotion in the Medical Department, of three Medical officers senior in rank, if practicable, to the officer being examined.
- (e)
- Appointments to office as Jefe Director and Medical Director shall not be made subject to examination by either a Medical Board or Examining Board.
Article 5
All candidates for appointment as commissioned officers in the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, shall, prior to appearing before an Examining Board, for examination for appointment, be examined by a board of medical examiners convened by the Jefe Director, which shall determine the candidate’s physical fitness or unfitness for appointment. The report of the board of medical examiners shall be referred to the Examining Board.
Article 6
All officers who are to be examined for promotion from one rank to a higher one shall, prior to appearing before an Examining Board for examination for such promotion, be examined by a board of medical examiners, convened by the Jefe Director, which shall determine the officer’s fitness or unfitness for promotion. The report of the board of medical examiners shall be referred to the Examining Board.
[Page 916]Article 7
A board of medical examiners convened for the examination of candidates for appointment as commissioned officers of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua or for promotion of commissioned officers of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua to a higher rank shall consist of two officers of the Medical Department of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua.
In the event a candidate for original appointment as a commissioned officer in the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua fails to pass successfully the prescribed physical examination by the board of medical examiners, the Examining Board will not proceed with the mental, moral or professional examination.
In the event an officer, due for promotion, fails to pass the required physical examination for promotion before a board of medical examiners, the Examining Board will not proceed with the professional examination of the candidate but shall definitely determine whether the physical incapacity is a result of the officer’s own misconduct or whether it was incurred in line of duty and incident to the service.
Article 8
Any officer found physically incapacitated for further service or for promotion will be retired from the service. If the disability results as an incident to service, he shall be placed on the retired list at . . . . . of his regular pay of his rank; if the disability results from his own misconduct or is not incident to service he shall be retired without pay.
Article 9
Any officer found professionally unqualified for promotion shall, provided he be found physically, mentally and morally qualified for such promotion, be re-examined within six months by an examining board. If he again fails, either mentally, morally or professionally, he shall be discharged from the service. If he is found physically, mentally, morally and professionally qualified he shall be, promoted subject to the following provisions:
- (a)
- When the examination is for promotion from major to colonel he shall lose one number from what he would have had had he not failed in his first examination.
- (b)
- When the examination is for promotion from captain to major he shall lose two numbers from what he would have had had he not failed in his first examination.
- (c)
- When the examination is for promotion from first lieutenant to captain he shall lose three numbers from what he would have had had he not failed in his first examination.
- (d)
- When the examination for promotion is from second lieutenant to first lieutenant he shall lose five numbers from what he would have had had he not failed in his first examination.
Article 10
No commissioned officer of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua shall hold any other elective or appointive office in the Government of the Republic, nor take active part in promoting the election of any political candidate to any office. The acceptance of any other office by a commissioned officer of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua shall be considered as his resignation from the Guardia: Provided, That a Guardia officer may be appointed by the President to fill the office of Jefe Politico of a department in time of internal disorder, rebellion, or war, or when Martial Law has been declared in that department, and the officer so appointed may detail officers serving under his command to subordinate positions for the administration of Martial Law throughout the department. In such a case the officer so appointed shall be known as the Military Governor of the department.
Article 11
No commissioned officer of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua shall be arbitrarily dismissed from the Guardia service, without cause, by any authority.
Article 12
All officers shall be required, upon their original appointment as commissioned officers, to take an oath to sustain the Constitution of Nicaragua and to abstain from an active participation in politics during their service in the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua.
Part IV—The Enlisted Personnel
Article 1
In time of peace all enlistments in the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua shall be voluntary. Each person enlisting shall take an oath to sustain the Constitution of Nicaragua and sign a contract to serve faithfully for a period of two years, and to abstain from active participation in politics during the period of their enlistment.
The ranks of enlisted men and their distribution therein shall be such as the President may from time to time direct.
The Jefe Director with the approval of the President shall promulgate special rules and regulations regarding all matters of recruiting, instruction, training, promotion, examination, discipline, operations, clothing, rations, arms and equipment, quarters and administration, [Page 918] but for the purpose of this act the existing orders, rules, and regulations now in force in the Guardia Nacional shall continue in effect until revoked or modified by competent authority.
Article 2
No enlisted men shall be discharged by any authority except by the order of the Jefe Director, the President of the Republic, or, pursuant to the sentence of a consejo de guerra. In every case of the separation of an enlisted man from the Guardia Nacional, except in cases of death or desertion, there shall be delivered to the man a certificate of discharge signed by the Jefe Director or an officer designated by him to sign each certificate.
Part V—Miscellaneous Provisions
Article 1
The Jefe Director shall, subject to the approval of the President of the Republic, promulgate the necessary rules and regulations governing the administration of the staff departments of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, but for the purpose of this law the rules and regulations now in effect pertaining to the staff departments shall be continued in full effect and force until they shall have been revoked or modified by competent authority.
Article 2
The Jefe Director shall, subject to the approval of the President of the Republic, promulgate the necessary regulations for the administration of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, but for the purpose of this law the regulations now in effect shall remain in full force and effect until revoked or modified by competent authority.
Article 3
It shall be the duty of the Jefe Director to issue the necessary and timely orders for the interior government of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua and the conduct of its military operations.
It shall be the duty of all officers who are in command of stations, districts, departments and areas, to issue such necessary and timely orders as may be necessary for the proper interior government of their respective commands and the conduct of military operations.
Article 4
Officers and enlisted men of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua shall have the right to purchase for their personal use articles carried on the property account of the Quartermaster Department, under the provisions of such regulations as shall be issued by the Jefe Director.
[Page 919]Article 5
It shall be illegal for any person not in the military service of the Republic of Nicaragua to wear any distinctive parts of the uniform or insignia of rank adopted by and prescribed for the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua.
Part VI—Jurisdiction of Civil and Criminal Courts and Consejos de Guerra Defined in Relation to Members of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua
Article 1
All offenses committed by members of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua in violation of the Articles for the Government of the Guardia Nacional shall be subject to trial by a consejo de guerra composed of commissioned officers of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua in accordance with the provisions of the Articles for the Government of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua.
Article 2
All offenses committed by members of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua against the civil and criminal laws of the country, if committed as individuals not in the performance of assigned military or police duties, shall be tried by the civil or criminal courts of the Republic.
All offenses committed by members of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua while in the performance of their assigned military or police duties, or in time of martial law, shall be tried by a consejo de guerra and punished as such consejo de guerra may direct.
Article 3
In cases where an offense is committed by a member of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua which is in violation of both the Articles for the Government of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua and the civil or criminal laws of the Republic, the decision as to which tribunal shall take jurisdiction shall rest with the President, who will be furnished with the report of an investigation of the case conducted by an officer or officers of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, but if the offense is committed in the performance of an assigned military or police duty or in time of martial law, a court-martial shall have exclusive jurisdiction.
Article 4
The findings of the consejos de guerra of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, after approval by the Jefe Director in the cases of enlisted men and after approval by the President in the cases of officers, are [Page 920] final, and not subject to appeal or review except by the Supreme Court of Justice of Nicaragua, and then only on matters of jurisdictional authority.
Article 5
An enlisted man of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua who has been turned over to civil or criminal courts shall, at the discretion of the Jefe Director, be either discharged from the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua or be suspended from the pay and allowances of his rank during the time he is absent from duty while in the hands of such authorities. In every case of conviction of a criminal charge in which more than a correctional sentence involving confinement is adjudged, the enlisted man concerned shall be discharged from the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua.
Article 6
A commissioned officer of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua who has been turned over to a civil or criminal court for trial, shall be suspended from his rank, pay and allowances of his rank during the period he is in the hands of such civil authorities. In all cases of conviction in a civil or criminal court in which more than a correctional sentence involving confinement is adjudged, the officer concerned shall be dismissed from the Guardia Nacional.
Article 7
All trials by consejos de guerra in the cases of officers and enlisted men of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua which have been had prior to the enactment of this law under authority of the Articles for the Government of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, shall have full validity and effect and such trials shall constitute a bar to further trial by military, civil or criminal tribunals of the Republic of Nicaragua as provided for in Article 32 of the Constitution of Nicaragua.
Article 8
Officers and enlisted men of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua, who prior to the enactment of this legislation, have committed offenses in line of duty as members of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua and who have not, prior thereto, been brought to trial by consejos de guerra, shall not be deprived of their right to trial by consejos de guerra as provided for in the Articles for the Government of the Guardia Nacional de Nicaragua.