The head of the Nicaraguan Army, General Julio César Avilés, ordered the retirement of 41 middle military commanders within the institution, while the senior Army officials continue to repeat the position regardless of age. Analysts consider that this decision “is not usual” and is rather a “stopper” within the institutions.
“One of the explanations that this situation may have is that it has to do with the plug that may have been created within the institution when it was decided that the highest-level positions, from the head of the Army, passing through some other officers, they are not the ones who go to retreats. This had already been warned when the Military Code was reformed that a plug was going to be created that was not going to allow other officers to rise in positions through the natural route of promotions », he stated in an interview with Article 66 the researcher and analyst on security issues, Elvira Cuadra.
Related news: Avilés performs “cleaning” among its ranks and sends more than 40 soldiers to retirement
Given this, he added that “they are sending them to retirement because they no longer have the possibility of promotion or promotion within the institutions, but there could also be some kind of political factor linked to that.”
This March 24, Avilés sent 13 colonels to what he called the “honorable retirement condition”, in second class 11 lieutenant colonels, 2 frigate captains, 13 majors, a captain and Brigadier General Genaro Rosendo Betanco Romero, decorated with the “order of the Nicaraguan Army” for being the highest-ranking officer sent to retirement on this occasion.
“Feel the pride of having always belonged to and represented this institution, with the honor and courage that characterizes the Nicaraguan soldier. We reiterate to all of his contributions in the process of founding, developing and modernizing the Nicaraguan Army, you are the builders of this firm and highly cohesive Army,” said the head of the military institution.
Related news: Avilés attacks independent journalists from Nicaragua: “They want chaos and are mercenaries of information”
The activity took place a day after the former Nicaraguan ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Arturo Mcfields, decided to rebel against the regime, denouncing human rights violations and the political crisis in the country’s institutions.
Cuadra stated that “the case of Arturo Mcfields has caused an internal earthquake and the surveillance, control and pressure measures on people, especially in some institutions that are sensitive, have increased from there. In general terms, the reaction has been to increase the levels of surveillance over public institutions,” the analyst said.
