An international group inspected 10 Nicaraguan prisons in 1980 and found most to be overcrowded, poorly serviced, and dilapidated. Since then the physical facilities have steadily improved, and overcrowding is not a significant problem. The country has three types of prisons: (1) open, with no security measures and management by an elected council of inmates; (2) semi-open or low security; and (3) closed, with or without work. Inmates progress through this system in five stages. The education program is a central component of this progression. Many inmates who had served in Somoza's National Guard have gone through this progression. The use of pretrial detention, often without charges, in holding centers operated by the Directorate General of State Security outside the prison system remains a concern. However, within the system conditions are generally favorable, and the Matagalpa prison reflects the achievements of the prison system in its inmates' positive attitudes and its staff's aspirations. 6 references