Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega on Friday accused the United States and Europe, without evidence, of having become “the greatest enemies of migrants,” during a speech given in Managua on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution.
“I believe that the time will come when the American people will have no other choice but to change, to change towards governments that respect the laws, respect migrants. They have become the Yankees and the Europeans are the greatest enemies of the emigrants,” Ortega said in his speech at the Plaza de la Revolución in Managua.
Ortega’s speech comes amid sanctions imposed by Washington against Managua for serving as a “bridge” for migrants from various countries such as Cuba, Kenya, Pakistan, Syria, Albania, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, among others.
Nicaragua has granted visa-free access to around forty countries with high migration flows to continue their irregular journey to the United States, according to complaints from human rights organizations.
In response, the US has announced a series of “coordinated actions” against the administration of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo in Nicaragua, which include visa restrictionssanctions against companies and policy warnings for airlines, in order to “crack down on irregular migration.”
The move follows a statement by the International Air Transport Association issued in May that warned airlines to “take action” to minimize the risk of being complicit in irregular migration.
Nicaragua has been in a social and political crisis since 2018, when protests against President Daniel Ortega, 78, erupted. Ortega described the demonstrations as an alleged coup attempt against his government.
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