The National Assembly of Nicaragua approved, at the request of President Daniel Ortega, a law that imposes total prohibitions on the entry into the country of unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones.
The Law for the Regulation and Use of Aerial Media stipulates that drones constitute “a threat and risk to the peace and sovereignty of the State of Nicaragua” and therefore “legislation that regulates them is a necessity.”
The legislation proposed by Ortega orders the creation of an office that will control and regulate the use of drones and those who have an unmanned vehicle in their possession in Nicaragua must report and deliver said devices in less than 30 days, otherwise they will incur a violation of the law.
The presidency will be the only entity that would grant permits
With the new law, approved on Wednesday, the Presidency of the Republic will be the only entity that will authorize the entry of drones into Nicaragua for the purposes of “scientific studies, search and rescue work, as well as tourist, sporting and cultural events.”
The permits do not include flying in “prohibited” areas such as military units, police units, and the Presidency of the Republic, as well as the headquarters of State Bodies.
Nicaragua has been experiencing a political crisis since 2018, when protests against President Daniel Ortega which left more than 300 dead and thousands of exiles, according to NGOs and other humanitarian groups. Ortega classified the demonstrations as an attempted coup d’état.
Since then, it has reinforced its security in Nicaragua and the perimeter where it lives.
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