AKs

The only other third world country I have much experience in other than Nicaragua is India. So I often found myself comparing the two countries. India seemed to me more chaotic, but less sinister. And maybe it's because there is an ever-present show of military-strength force in Nicaragua. On the one side you have the Sandinistas and on the other you have more unofficial, but maybe just as strong, Security Guards for the banks, various hotels, private estates... etc. Some of the Security Guards carry tasers that look big enough to put down small horse. Many of them carry enforcer shotguns. All of them seemed have batons. The Sandinistas all carry AK-47s. I once heard these are the most reliable weapons made. Many of the AKs I saw had plastic magazines which really reduce the weight.
These weapons in plain view are ever present. I never got used to it.