The People’s Republic of China donated an indeterminate amount of supplies to the regime’s Police for use by riot police, who are the main people in charge of repression against the civilian population in Nicaragua.
The supplies donated were: complete riot gear; gladiator pattern shields; English model shields; helmets; gloves; Canes; protection plates; bulletproof vests; and girls, according to images published in the means of Ortega propaganda.
The posts do not detail the number of teams or the amount of the donation. Nevertheless, sources linked to the trade in security equipment have calculated —for reports of CONFIDENTIAL– that a complete riot suit costs more than 500 dollarswhile helmets, vests and shields exceed 100 dollars per unit.
The United States sanctioned the National Policeas an institution, on March 5, 2020. This condition makes it impossible for the Police and any official to carry out any type of financial or commercial transaction. The institution may not purchase uniforms, supplies, or equipment for its officers.
The US government accuses the Police of “being responsible or complicit, or having participated directly or indirectly in serious human rights abuses in Nicaragua.”
The repressive arm of Ortega and Murillo
At the delivery ceremony was the son of the presidential couple, Laureano Ortega Murillo; the Chinese ambassador to Nicaragua, Chen Xi; the general director of the Police, the first commissioner Francisco Díaz Madriz; and the police inspector general, commissioner general Jaime Antonio Vanegas.
Díaz Madriz said that the donation “will strengthen the capacity of our police officers, in the actions we carry out to guarantee peace, tranquility and security.”
The Police is the main repressive arm of the Ortega dictatorship. During and after the civic protests of 2018, the institution was in charge of violently dismantling any opposition demonstration. Since 2019, police officers have harassed, intimidated, threatened and detained any citizen who is critical of the government.
According to the official media, Ortega Murillo assured that the Ortega Police “possibly have the most limited financial resources in the Central American region, but the best results in citizen security.”
Nevertheless, an investigation of CONFIDENTIAL showed growth exponential growth of the Police, which went from 9,290 to 19,010 members, from 2007 to 2021. Meanwhile, from 2008 to 2021, the Police has received —via the budget— a total of 33,380 million córdobas.
China only gives ‘miscellaneous’ donations
According to the propaganda media, the Chinese ambassador commented that “the Nicaraguan National Police has assumed a very competent and efficient responsibility in the service of the Nicaraguan people and has accumulated rich experiences.”
An analysis of CONFIDENTIAL He explained that the reactivated political and ideological link between the People’s Republic of China and Nicaragua has been characterized by the constant signing of agreements and conventions, which to date have only have been translated into small miscellaneous aids of little impact, taking into account the weight of the Asian giant in the world economy.
Nicaragua and China resumed diplomatic relations on December 10, 2021after the regime broke off relations with Taiwan, one of the main bilateral cooperators in recent years.
