December 5, 2024
By John Perry
(John Perry is based in Masaya, Nicaragua, and writes for the Council on Hemispheric Affairs, London Review of Books, FAIR, Covert Action Magazine and others. This article was first published in Popular Resistance on Nov. 26, 2024.)
In the dying days of his administration, President Biden must have needed a reminder by his officials on November 22. He had to decide whether Nicaragua still posed an “unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States”. Presumably he agreed that it did, because he renewed its status as a “national security threat” for a further year, repeating the designation that first began under the last Trump presidency.
As figures from the Latin America Security and Defense Network show, this “threat” comes from a state which spends less of its national income on defense than almost any other country in the hemisphere. It even spends slightly less than neighboring Costa Rica, which has no army. Its total national income (GDP) is the equivalent of a small US city. Its seven million people have the second lowest income per capita in the region.

The map shows comparative figures for Latin American military spending. The first number shows the percentage of national income spent on the military in each country. Source: REDAL, 2024 Atlas Comparativo de la Defensa en América Latina y el Caribe.
What “unusual and extraordinary threat” does Nicaragua pose to a country with 50 times its population and the world’s biggest military budget, whose southern border is in any case nearly 2,000 miles away? According to the White House press release, the first threat is the Nicaraguan government’s “violent response” to a coup attempt that took place over six years ago and was, it omits to mention, instigated by the US. This attempted justification turns the story of what happened on its head. The uprising that shook Nicaragua lasted roughly three months, resulted officially in 251 deaths (including 22 police officers; others put the total deaths as higher) and over 2,000 injured. It allegedly “caused $1 billion in economic damages,” and led to an economic collapse. (After years of continuous growth, GDP fell by 3.4% in 2018). What other government would not have responded to such a damaging attack on its country?
In Washington’s view, further “threats” arise because Nicaragua’s government is “undermining democracy”, using “indiscriminate violence” against its citizens and destabilizing its economy through “corruption”. Quite apart from the fact that these are gross distortions of reality in Nicaragua and are in any case blatantly hypocritical, nothing in the press release shows how – even if true – these conditions could present any threat to the US, let alone an “unusual and extraordinary” one.
Or could it be something else? Recently, in response to Nicaragua’s support for Palestinian liberation, the Israeli regime has made allegations that “radical Iranian forces and terror groups operate freely” in the country, again with no evidence, presumably hoping to encourage Washington to add Nicaragua to the list of “state sponsors of terrorism”. However, this is not mentioned in the White House press release.
Nevertheless, perhaps Nicaragua’s “threat” to the US comes from its international relations? General Laura Richardson, until recently the head of the US Southern Command, put the blame for Russia’s “malign activities” in the region on its links with Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. Nicaragua’s growing relationship with China is also seen as a problematic, with Taiwan warning that China’s planned deep-water port for Bluefields in Nicaragua will be its “naval outpost” in Central America. However, Nicaragua is hardly alone in developing close links with major powers seen by Washington as key adversaries. Peru’s Chinese-built port is also viewed as a threat by General Richardson. Many other countries in the region, including Brazil, now have close ties with China and, to a lesser extent, Russia. In part, the drive behind these links is a desire to be less dependent on the US and insure against its economic sanctions.
Of course, if any country is showing threatening behavior here, it is the US itself. Its sponsoring of the 2018 coup attempt involved the US embassy in Managua and funding from bodies like USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy, which (as they boasted at the time) trained 8,000 young Nicaraguans to take part in the coup. Washington has been trying to undermine Nicaragua’s Sandinista government since the moment it returned to power in 2007. It has repeatedly refused to acknowledge the outcomes of democratic elections, scores of Nicaraguan officials have been sanctioned, development loans via bodies like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have been blocked for the last six years, Nicaragua’s government has been falsely accused of “preying on migrants”, and its people have been encouraged to migrate to the US. The State Department advises tourists not to visit a country which, according to an international Gallup poll, is “the most peaceful place on earth”.
Nicaragua has suffered 17 years of continuous bullying by its near neighbor but this, of course, is only a short episode in a history of US intervention that began in 1854 when US warships were sent to threaten Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast. Later it included two decades of the country’s occupation by US Marines, Washington’s support for the Somoza dictatorship for four more decades and then, under the Reagan administration, its sponsoring of the “Contra” war which cost 30,000 Nicaraguan lives in the 1980s. Reparations ordered by the World Court for the economic damage caused by that war were, of course, never paid.
So, not only is Washington the guilty party in terms of threatening behavior, but Biden’s declaration and his administration’s policies towards Nicaragua augment this by labelling Nicaragua as a pariah state, which holds “pantomime” elections and where its people flee “communism” and “political persecution”. This labelling is, of course, then repeated by corporate media.
In 2025, Nicaragua can expect new threats from Washington. Marco Rubio is penciled in as the Trump administration’s Secretary of State, acting as Trump’s “sharpshooter” against governments such as those in Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. One target is likely to be the remittances sent by migrants in the US. As in neighboring Central American countries, they account for a quarter of Nicaragua’s national income, and could soon fall both because Trump plans to tax them and because he promises to deport large tranches of those migrants, who will return, jobless, to their home countries.
Those searching for evidence of the “threat” which the country poses to US interests might usefully look at developments in Nicaragua itself. For example, a recent report by the UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) showed that it is one of the countries in the region that invests most, proportionate to its population, in public health services. Health care is free in Nicaragua and it has by far the largest number of public hospitals in Central America, many of them recently built or modernized. ECLAC’s figures show that life expectancy in Nicaragua is one of the longest in Latin America, despite its income per capita being among the lowest. ECLAC showed that Nicaragua spends a high proportion of its national budget on social investment, and this is reflected not only in comprehensive health care, but in its advances in education, social housing, transport, electricity and drinking water coverage and its transition to renewable energy. The Sandinista government’s current plan to reduce poverty shows that its initial efforts led to it falling from 48.3 per cent of Nicaraguans in 2005 to 24.9 per cent in 2016. Clearly those who planned the 2018 coup attempt saw the “threat” presented by improved public services, since their violence deliberately targeted town halls, health centers, universities, schools and facilities for pregnant women (casas maternas).
In 1985, at the height of the Contra war, the aid agency Oxfam published a book entitled Nicaragua: The Threat of a Good Example? At the time, Nicaragua’s achievements in raising literacy levels, improving food security and bringing public services to remote rural areas were legendary, but necessarily much limited by a US trade embargo and the US-funded attacks on health and education facilities and their workers. Perhaps in 2024, after a popularly elected government has had 17 years to develop public services and reduce poverty, with results obvious to all, Nicaragua really is the “good example” that Washington finds so threatening.
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Briefs
By Nan McCurdy
Highway Linking Corinto and Bilwi Complete!
The last section of the 557 kilometer-long strategic inter-oceanic corridor of the North Caribbean Coast is now complete. The road begins at the Port of Corinto on the Pacific coast and ends in Bilwi on the Caribbean coast. The Ministry of Construction and Transportation (MTI) announced the completion of the third section of the Sahsa-Puerto Cabezas highway, 25 kilometers long. With this section this 86 kilometer road is completed and this completes the connectivity between the Pacific and Atlantic coasts in the north of Nicaragua. The construction of this road provides a definitive solution to the historical isolation of 563,088 Indigenous and Afro-descendant people of the Autonomous Region of the Northern Caribbean Coast. This new section also will boost the growth of agricultural and fishing production as well as mining and contributes to the reduction of travel times and costs, strengthens national sovereignty and the security of Nicaraguan families. (La Primerisima, 3 December 2024)
Immigration Law Reformed
On Nov. 28 the National Assembly approved the “Reform to the General Law of Migration and Foreigners and Addition to the Penal Code,” with the purpose of strengthening the country’s legal framework in these areas. According to sponsors of the initiative, the reform will strengthen border controls, including rules governing the state’s ability to grant, deny and cancel the entry, stay, and residence of immigrants and regulate the acquiring of Nicaraguan nationality. Business visas are included in accordance with the goal of promoting investment and bilateral agreements. The new law states that anyone who enters the country in an irregular manner with the purpose of undermining the constitutional order of the country or conspiring to commit terrorist acts or economic destabilization shall be guilty of a crime and punished with two to six years prison time and a fine. National Assembly Deputy Patricia Sanchez said that the reform allows a modernization and updating of the legal framework of the General Directorate of Immigration and Foreigners. The amended articles reinforce the prevention of labor exploitation of migrants by reducing the period for employers to inform the migratory authority about the hiring of citizens of other nationalities. To see the entire newly reformed law: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/reforman ... gratorias/ (La Primerisima, 28 November 2024)
Expansion and Improvement of León’s Water System Almost Complete
ENACAL (Nicaragua’s water and sewerage company) reported that the project for the expansion, improvement and modernization of the potable water system of the city of León is in its final stages, reaching 97% completion to date. The 198 kilometers of pipelines, construction of 18 wells and 12 tanks will be completed in the first months of 2025. This will substantially improve service to some 48,200 families. The project has received financial support from the government of Nicaragua and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI). See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/casi-lis ... a-en-leon/ (La Primerisima, 27 November 2024)
Camilo Ortega Hospital in Juigalpa Renovated
The Ministry of Health concluded the renovation work, including the replacement of the roof of the inpatient area, of the Comandante Camilo Ortega Hospital in Juigalpa, Chontales. This will provide better conditions for attending the 117,000 patients who receive care and treatment in this health center every year. The work included the aforementioned replacement of the roof, ceiling maintenance, installation of gutters and downspouts for rainwater drainage in the hospitalization, general services, laboratory and imaging areas. See photos: https://radiolaprimerisima.com/rehabili ... -juigalpa/ (La Primerisima, 27 November 2024)
Much Excitement Over Arrival of Buses for Intercity Transportation
On Dec. 3rd, 400 buses and minibuses from the People’s Republic of China arrived in the capital to be distributed among the different intercity transportation cooperatives. Vice President Rosario Murillo reported that next week the government will be delivering the buses for the communities of the North and South Caribbean Coast. “With this we are honoring the memory of the Guerrilla Commander and Priest Gaspar García Laviana.” Murillo explained that “Dec. 11 is another anniversary of his transition to another plane of life. But the martyrs live and vibrate now in the hearts and lives of everyone. Why? Because every achievement, every step forward, they are there as the sun that illuminates us and never goes down.” In closing, Murillo reiterated that “These buses come to the families of the Autonomous Regions of the Caribbean Coast because we have peace and security that we proudly safeguard and defend, that we lovingly take care of.” Victor Zuniga, driver of one of the units, said, “We are proud of how this government has worked tirelessly with other nations to provide better transportation. Before, the units were in terrible condition. Today everything is different.” (La Primerisima, 3 December 2024)
Nicaragua Speaks Up at Meeting to Fight Desertification
The government of Nicaragua raised its voice before the powerful of the global north who ignore their historical responsibilities, demanding the creation of fair conditions that allow developing countries to face global environmental challenges. The Nicaraguan representative, Mohamed Lashtar, presented Nicaragua’s position during the final session of the High-Level Ministerial Segment at the sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP16) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from December 2 to 13, 2024.
Discussing the fight against desertification and drought, Lashtar said that climate change has become the climate crisis and that Mother Earth has been stripped of her protective elements. He emphasized that Nicaragua has been adopting policies that contribute to balance, development, and environmental sustainability with the active participation of families and communities. He denounced the capitalist model as the main cause of climate inequality and he called for justice under the principle of common responsibilities, demanding greater technological and financial efforts to create fair conditions that allow developing countries to face the climate crisis, promote multilateralism and a holistic approach to protect Mother Earth.
Rezq Basheer-Salimia, Head of the Palestinian Delegation to COP16 thanked Nicaragua and President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo for the unconditional support of the Palestinian cause, conveying fraternal greetings to the people and government of Nicaragua. Several delegations highlighted the courage of Nicaragua in firmly supporting Palestine and its solidarity with Gaza, advocating for peace, solidarity, stability and global security.
The Nicaraguan delegation participated in the high-level ministerial segments on drought resilience, finance, and migration due to the effects of land degradation and drought. The delegation was composed of Mohamed Lashtar, Minister Advisor to the President for Africa, Middle East and Arab Countries and Jonathan Gonzalez, Climate Change Specialist of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA) of Nicaragua. (La Primerisima, 3 December 2024)
Rock FM Celebrates 17 Years with Tribute to the Best National Metal Music
The most-listened to metal-rock radio station in Nicaragua, Rock FM, celebrated its 17th anniversary at the Polideportivo Alexis Argüello Stadium (an indoor sports and music venue) with a concert of the best exponents of national rock. This 11-hour marathon rock concert included only Nicaraguan bands like Decadencia, Coraje, Mofockos, Inanimate Like Corpses, Xibalba, Excelsyum, Omnífono, La Cegua, Carga Cerrada, and Momotombo on the stage and it closed with the band Ciclos. In total 23 national bands participated, each with five songs that they had written. Rock FM sponsors this concert yearly on their anniversary to promote national bands and the rock genre. As part of the event there was a Rock Fair Expo where products alluding to rock, including t-shirts, key chains, clothes and food, were offered. Rock FM is one of the most popular radio stations in Nicaragua with a complete programming of rock music in all its styles from Latin America, Europe, the US and more. Federico Rojas, lead singer of the band Momotombo, said that these concerts have reactivated the national rock movement, which he categorizes as good news. “I had not participated in a national event for a while and now to be able to come and see so many bands, some of them new, shows that there is a future; it is an excellent event.” All the bands that played are Nicaraguan and each one interpreted their own melodies making the platform that promotes these concerts every year more and more attractive. Rock FM promises a rock tour throughout the country in 2025. (19Digital, 30 November 2024)
https://afgj.org/nicanotes-biden-declar ... -nicaragua
The threat of a good example again...We know what they're afraid of.