Nicaragua

the military is responsible for defending Nicaragua’s independence, sovereignty, and territory; it also has some domestic security responsibilities, including border security, assisting the police, protecting natural resources, and providing disaster relief and humanitarian assistance; Nicaragua has defense ties with Cuba, Venezuela, and Russia; Russia has provided training support and equipment; in 2025, Nicaragua signed an agreement of “mutual protection” with Russia the modern Army of Nicaragua was created in 1979 as the Sandinista Popular Army (1979-1984); prior to 1979, the military was known as the National Guard, which was organized and trained by the US in the 1920s and 1930s; the first commander of the National Guard, Anastasio SOMOZA GARCIA, seized power in 1937 and ran the country as a military dictator until his assassination in 1956; his sons ran the country either directly or through figureheads until the Sandinistas came to power in 1979; the defeated National Guard was disbanded by the Sandinistas (2025)

Armed Forces of Nicaragua (formal name is Army of Nicaragua or Ejercito de Nicaragua, EN): Land Force; Naval Force; Air Force (2025)

note: both the military and the Nicaraguan National Police (Policía Nacional de Nicaragua or PNN) report directly to the president; Parapolice, which are non-uniformed, armed, and masked units with marginal tactical training and loose hierarchical organization, act in coordination with government security forces and report to the National Police; they have been used to suppress anti-government protesters

18-30 years of age for voluntary military service (16-20 for cadets); no conscription; tour of duty 18-36 months (2025)

the military's air and ground force inventories include mostly secondhand Russian or Soviet-era equipment (2025)

approximately 12,000 active Armed Forces (2025)