Nicaraguans have watched paramilitaries - plainclothes militiamen who appear to be working in close coordination with government security forces - fight pitched battles against protesters since an uprising against Ortega's government began three months ago. They have burned homes, businesses and university buildings. But there is a less visible side to the violence: These roving bands of masked gunmen have quietly kidnapped and tortured dissidents like Novoa. Some 600 people have been captured by armed groups and have gone missing, according to the Nicaraguan Association for Human Rights.