The National Assembly, controlled by deputies loyal to the regime and its collaborating political allies, ratified the presidential decree issued by Daniel Ortega and published in The GazetteOfficial Gazette, which authorizes the entry from July 1 of troops, military equipment, ships and aircraft from Russia, the United States, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico and the Confederation of Central American Armed Forces, to carry out military exercises for humanitarian purposes.
During the debate on the approval of this legislative decree, the Ortega deputies harshly questioned the accusations made by United States officials about this initiative. The procedure was approved as a matter of urgency at the request of Ortega, with 78 votes in favor, 11 abstentions and zero against.
This is a routine process that takes place twice a year in Nicaragua. However, the official propaganda of the Government of Vladimir Putin, in Russia, “exaggerated” this entry of military troops from his country in Nicaragua, trying to send a message of threat to the United States, with whom it has historically maintained tense relations, even more cracked after the Russian invasion in Ukraine, which began on February 24, and has been condemned worldwide, but supported by the Daniel Ortega regime in Nicaragua.
Even the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs himself, Brian Nichols, described the presence of Russian troops in Nicaragua as “a provocation.”
“Inviting Russian forces, Russian troops to exercises, even if they are humanitarian at a time when that country is invading a neighboring country, and committing human rights violations in Ukraine, seems to us to be a provocation by the Nicaraguan regime, and it’s something a little dangerous for us,” he told the German news service in Spanish, Deutsche Welle.
Deputy Filiberto Rodríguez points to Brian Nichols as “uninformed”
The Ortega deputy Filiberto Rodriguez, president of the Commission of the Interior, was the one who stood out in his attacks against the United States and the independent national and international media.
“These are traditional exchanges and relationships. We have heard in the Chachalaca media, in media where many cluck like chickens, including this man from the United States, Brian Nichols, saying that Nicaragua is opening the doors to Russia in Central America. That this gentleman does not know, that he is uninformed, that this is a tradition of armies, just as the United States Army, the United States Southern Command, is coming, ”Rodríguez explained in his intervention.
In the same vein, the Ortega deputy Wálmaro Gutiérrez, who is sanctioned by the United States Department of the Treasury. “I have been seeing these media such as CNN, El País, BBC and many others that have lent themselves to this dirty campaign that aims to misinform and lie to international public opinion by making them believe that foreign troops are being stationed in Nicaragua, it is time to clarify that Nicaragua is a country that loves peace (…) unlike other countries that are warlike in essence and that have troops permanently stationed outside their borders,” said the parliamentarian.
The president of Costa Rica himself, Rodrigo Chávez, declared the “concern” of his Government because “there is news that President Daniel Ortega invited the Russian Army to send troops and equipment to Nicaragua. We have not had an Army since 1949. Imagine how we feel: worried, with good reason”, he argued.
The signal of the Russian propaganda
The controversy over this decree began when the Russian official television presenter, Olga Skabeeva, reported that Ortega authorized the entry of military troopsRussian ships and planes to Nicaragua, for the second half of 2022. Then, the journalist added that “if American missile systems can be close to Moscow from the territory of Ukraine, it is time for Russia to deploy something powerful closer to an American city.
The announcement of the Russian presenter coincided with the dissemination of the presidential decree in which Ortega authorized the entry into Nicaragua of military troops, equipment, ships and aircraft “for humanitarian purposes and exercises”, published in the Official Gazette, this Thursday 9 of June.
In the first place, the decree indicates that Russian troops in Nicaragua will participate in training and exchange exercises in humanitarian aid operations, search, rescue and rescue missions in emergency situations or natural disasters, with the Commander Humanitarian and Rescue Unit. William Joaquín Ramírez Solórzano, of the Nicaraguan Army.
Another component of this exchange with Russia includes “training and exchange exercises in humanitarian aid operations, search, rescue and rescue missions in emergency situations or natural disasters, with the ground forces, Air Force and Naval Force of the Nicaraguan Army” .
The third component refers to “exchange of experiences, training, operations against illegal activities in maritime spaces in the Caribbean Sea and jurisdictional waters in the Pacific Ocean of Nicaragua, with the Naval Force of the Nicaraguan Army.”
The last component mentions the “participation with members of the Navy, Air Force and Blanca Stella Aráuz Pineda Transmission Corps of the Nicaraguan Army, in exchanging experiences and operational communication with ships and aircraft of the Nicaraguan Army in confrontation and fight against drug trafficking and organized crime.
