The offer by the Nicaraguan authorities to turn the country into a platform for Iran in Central America does not suit Nicaragua or the region, said Costa Rican academic Carlos Murillo.
“It suits Ortega, of course, because he has allies, money of some kind. I think that this Ortega-Murillo corporation does not establish any link, if it does not obtain some significant revenue for them,” added the expert.
According to Murillo Zamora, this is explained by the sultan and corporatist nature of the Nicaraguan dictatorship, which does not care about the types of allies it is adding in the international context.
Dr. Murillo Zamora is an expert in international relations and works as a researcher at the School of Public Administration of the University of Costa Rica (UCR)from where he regularly monitors the situation in Nicaragua.
“It is not convenient for Central America, because it places the region in a confrontation scenario in the current world situation between the United States, China and Russia. For Central America, it is undoubtedly a problem that these ties are strengthened, ”he stressed.
The Nicaraguan regime received Iran’s foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, with a red carpet last week to strengthen relations with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on a tour made by the diplomat to Africa and Latin America.
Photo: Confidential | Courtesy.
Both political regimes have been characterized by the repression of their citizens, to appease opposition demonstrations, also by their deep-rooted anti-American rhetoric and by the use of the judicial system to persecute opponents.
The Costa Rican professor stated that the Iranian presence in Nicaragua is worrisome. He warned in particular about that of terrorist groups, making reference to Israel’s denunciation of the presence of Hezbollah in Venezuela and Nicaragua.
The newspaper La Nación, from Costa Rica, quoted the declarations of Jonathan Peled, director for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel.
The proposal of the Ortega dictatorship to the Ayatollah
Laureano Ortega Murillo, investment adviser to the Nicaraguan dictatorship and son of the ruling couple, proposed turning the nation into an Iranian “platform”, after emphasizing that they are two fighting, heroic and brotherly peoples.
“Iran has a great technological, industrial, commercial, from which Nicaragua can be greatly benefited and Nicaragua has and plays a fundamental role in the Central American region as a platform for the export of products, to make a showcase for Iranian products throughout the Central American region, also a very important role in diplomacy and geopolitics,” said Ortega Murillo.
At that meeting, the presidential adviser was accompanied by two of his brothers, Camila and Daniel Ortega Murillo. The first served as an official of the Ministry of Economy and the other as a representative of the official media, directly controlled by her mother and vice president Rosario Murillo.
Last week, the Iranian foreign minister visited the facilities of the fuel storage center in Miramar, one of Ortega’s broken promises. He was also received by the president of the National Assembly, Gustavo Porras in another effort by the regime to strengthen ties.
The regime’s official proposal to Iran was rejected by the former US ambassador to Panama, John Feeley, who called it a “bad joke.”
According to the online magazine, Trading Economics, 82% of Iran’s exports are oil and other derivatives. The Persians do not manufacture almost anything that the Nicaraguans and Central Americans need, apart from oil and this is under international sanctions,” the diplomat told CONFIDENTIAL.
Feeley described Iran and Nicaragua as international pariahs. For his part, Murillo Zamora insisted that this proposal occurs when regional integration in Central America is facing a very critical period, because there is no communication between the leaders for really important projects.
The expert Carlos Murillo spoke out for knowing the businesses that will be carried out in Nicaragua by the Iranians in order to have a judgment based on facts. The other option is that it is a screen to guarantee resources in favor of the Nicaraguan regime.
He also questioned the alliances of the Ortega dictatorship with other countries such as China and Russia, which is due to the interest of seeking great allies, through which he sends a message to the United States: “Don’t mess with me, I have powerful friends.”
Ortega has reached out to these countries to avoid accountability to the international community for human rights abuses committed starting in 2018, when the state brutally repressed peaceful protesters. were killed 355 people in that context and more than 2000 people were injured.
The cases are currently in impunity, while Ortega has justified his campaign of repression, which keeps 235 political prisoners, in a supposed fight against the “interventionism” of foreign powers: the US—his main trading partner—, the European Union and Canada.
