Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America, yet economically, it is the poorest in the region. Decades of socialist economic planning and a corrupt regime pushed Nicaragua to the political brink in 2018 resulting in the deaths of hundreds of Nicaraguans (the Organization of American States calculates the deaths at 328, human rights groups the country have estimated higher numbers). Thousands were injured and, according to civil society leaders, many are still missing. At least two American citizens were killed under suspicious circumstances.
For many years the Nicaraguan legal system has been compromised by regime leaders Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo. Effectively, rule of law is illusory. The legal system exists in name only and it is used to provide the color of law, while the national police and the military commit gross violations of human rights with impunity. Anyone who speaks out against the Ortega-Murillo regime risks being arbitrarily detained, brutally tortured, or worse. They are left without any legal recourse to address the violations.
The electoral system, such as it is, is deeply flawed and rigged in favor of the socialist Sandinistas and those who support them. Nicaraguan resistance leaders are also forced into exile where they at least have a voice, but are removed from the civil society space. Freedom of the press has also been smothered by the regime. Indeed, the people of Nicaragua have a lot to sort out in what is left in 2020 and early 2021, when elections are supposed to be held.
What happens in Nicaragua is important to the United States for many reasons. Located in a strategic area of the Americas, a stable Nicaragua is in the U.S. national and security interest. In addition to billions of dollars in annual trade; although it could be better and it can be with a democratic and free Nicaragua. Other common interests include combating transnational crimes like human trafficking, illegal immigration, illegal drugs, and terrorism. A free and democratic Nicaragua can improve these issues as well.
In March 2020, the Global Liberty Alliance announced that it was supporting the efforts of Nicaragua’s most important rural coalition, the Farmers’ Movement of Nicaragua (Movimiento Campesino de Nicaragua). Strong supporters of private property rights and the rule of law, the rural coalition and the people that they represent have suffered the brunt of the regime’s attacks. Property has been unlawfully confiscated. Its members have been targeted with brute force or killed.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the unwillingness of the Ortega-Murillo regime to consider the best interest of its citizens became obvious in a new way. In April 2020, GLA, Primero Nicaragua USA, and the Farmers' Movement of Nicaragua issued a joint letter urging Ortega's government to implement public health measures given COVID-19.
Find more of GLA's advocacy for the Nicaraguan people below.
For many years the Nicaraguan legal system has been compromised by regime leaders Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo. Effectively, rule of law is illusory. The legal system exists in name only and it is used to provide the color of law, while the national police and the military commit gross violations of human rights with impunity. Anyone who speaks out against the Ortega-Murillo regime risks being arbitrarily detained, brutally tortured, or worse. They are left without any legal recourse to address the violations.
The electoral system, such as it is, is deeply flawed and rigged in favor of the socialist Sandinistas and those who support them. Nicaraguan resistance leaders are also forced into exile where they at least have a voice, but are removed from the civil society space. Freedom of the press has also been smothered by the regime. Indeed, the people of Nicaragua have a lot to sort out in what is left in 2020 and early 2021, when elections are supposed to be held.
What happens in Nicaragua is important to the United States for many reasons. Located in a strategic area of the Americas, a stable Nicaragua is in the U.S. national and security interest. In addition to billions of dollars in annual trade; although it could be better and it can be with a democratic and free Nicaragua. Other common interests include combating transnational crimes like human trafficking, illegal immigration, illegal drugs, and terrorism. A free and democratic Nicaragua can improve these issues as well.
In March 2020, the Global Liberty Alliance announced that it was supporting the efforts of Nicaragua’s most important rural coalition, the Farmers’ Movement of Nicaragua (Movimiento Campesino de Nicaragua). Strong supporters of private property rights and the rule of law, the rural coalition and the people that they represent have suffered the brunt of the regime’s attacks. Property has been unlawfully confiscated. Its members have been targeted with brute force or killed.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, the unwillingness of the Ortega-Murillo regime to consider the best interest of its citizens became obvious in a new way. In April 2020, GLA, Primero Nicaragua USA, and the Farmers' Movement of Nicaragua issued a joint letter urging Ortega's government to implement public health measures given COVID-19.
Find more of GLA's advocacy for the Nicaraguan people below.
Gla Advocacy:
GLA Nicaragua News
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Nicaraguan Dispatches (Soundcloud)
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