President Daniel Ortega sent this Wednesday to the Nicaraguan parliament -under his control- a initiative to ratify the entry into the national territory of “ships and foreign military personnel for purposes of exchange and humanitarian assistance.”
The decree that could be renewed this Friday, extends, among other things, the entry of personnel and weapons of the Russian Armed Forces, which is at war with Ukraine after invading that country in February.
Russian troops would be authorized to enter Nicaragua from January 1 to June 30, 2023 and would presumably participate “in training and exchange in humanitarian aid operations.”
The Nicaraguan armed forces would also be authorized to travel to those countries and carry out similar humanitarian exercises.
The Ortega government makes cooperation agreements annually of this type, which also includes other countries, however analysts indicate that although it is a common practice, in the case of Russian troops, it is not appropriate in the current context, marked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Russia wants to project threats in the region as a counterweight to everything that is happening with Ukraine and, in this regard, the various concrete facts,” he told the VOA Evan Illis, a security expert and professor at the United States Army War College.
According to Illis, this shows Nicaragua’s willingness “to serve as a host for these types of threats and, among other things, we must also recognize that Nicaragua, although slightly less than Venezuela, has been one of the key buyers and partners for the material Russian war in Latin America”.
Nicaragua an ally of Russia in the region
Ortega has bought some 50 T-72 tanks from Russia and also several armored vehicles, and military transport planes, in the same way the so-called ground station of the Global Navigation Satellite System (Glonass, acronym in Russian) was established in Managua.
The Kremlin has also offered to redouble its support for Nicaragua, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said earlier this year.
“In many respects, Nicaragua has been one of the few key allies to host any kind of threat that Russia might want to project into the region at some point as part of its fight against the United States and the West,” Illis added. regard.
Ortega, for his part, has declared himself an ally of Putin in the region and has said that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is aimed at “seeking peace in the world.”
Likewise, Nicaragua has been recognized as one of the few countries to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two rebel regions of Georgia, as independent republics, a week after Russia did the same.
The last thing was the annexation of Crimea, which only Nicaragua recognized by establishing an honorary consul.
The United States has taken measures in this regard.
The United States has taken measures as a result of Nicaragua’s support for Russia for its position in favor of the invasion of Ukraine.
In October of this year, President Joe Biden announced an amendment to Executive Order 13851, which establishes that Nicaragua represents a threat to its national security. The amendment extends sanctions powers to Managua, including measures specifically related to trade.
In fact, said executive order was extended this Thursday by the Democratic administration.
Washington alleged that among other things, this was because Nicaragua increased its security cooperation with Russia.
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