"Sanctions against Nicaragua," Daniel Ortega's repeated lie to attack the EU

Daniel Ortega lied during his July 19^th speech, when he accused the European Parliament of demanding “sanctions” and “thunderbolts” against Nicaragua, further claiming that this call for sanctions was the result of his refusal to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine during the recent summit between the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) held in Brussels, Belgium.

Speaking before a reduced audience of sympathizers, Ortega stated: “the European Parliament says terrible things against Nicaragua, against us, and asks for more sanctions on Nicaragua. From the European Union there are also violent voices against Venezuela as well, talking about trying to hinder president Nicolas Maduro from coming to the meeting, under threat of being detained.”

The Nicaraguan regime maintains a sustained campaign against supposed intervention in their internal affairs, using their “sovereignty” to justify the internal repression against Nicaraguan citizens who criticize the rulers.

On June 15, the European Deputies actually spoke in favor of further sanctions against Ortega, his inner circle, and the judges and prosecutors. They weren’t talking about sanctions against the country; up to the moment, the European measures have been directed only at high-level Nicaraguan officials.

On October 14, 2022, the EU extended for another year their sanctions against Ortega’s family and inner circle, including his wife and first lady Rosario Murillo, his children – Camila, Laureano, and Juan Carlos Ortega Murillo – the president of Nicaragua’s National Assembly Gustavo Porras, Supreme Court Chief Justice Alba Luz Ramos, and presidential advisor Bayardo Arce, among others.

In a press declaration, the European Parliament condemned the human rights abuses that have been perpetrated in Nicaragua since April 2018. These are not an isolated phenomenon, they denounced, but part of a concerted effort to dismantle the separation of powers, the democratic guarantees, and to concentrate all the power in the hands of Ortega and Murillo.

“The European deputies lament the regime’s continual instrumentalization of the judicial system, and the judges’ complicity. Given that, they ask that the list of sanctions imposed by the European Union be broadened to include judges and prosecutors, in addition to President Ortega himself and his inner circle,” the deputies demanded.

The European officials also condemned the banishment and cancellation of their nationality that the regime imposed on the 222 former political prisoners. These members of the opposition were declared “traitors” by the Ortega-controlled Nicaraguan National Assembly, a classification the assembly then used to terminate their civil and political rights. In addition to condemning these actions, the European deputies called for the immediate liberation of Monsignor Rolando Alvarez, sentenced to 26 years and four months in prison, after he refused to agree to the forced exile the dictatorship forced on the other political prisoners.

Avoiding harm to the Nicaraguan people

In contrast to Ortega’s lie, the European Commission has instead made efforts to avoid causing harm to the population. Because of this, they’ve opposed suspending Nicaragua from the EU-Central America Association Agreement.

“If we suspended those activities, the first ones to suffer would be the common citizens, who are already suffering greatly under the Ortega regime,” Peter Stano, spokesperson for the European Commission, told Radio France International on July 12.

In his speeches, Ortega habitually declares that Europe hasn’t lost its “colonialist” and “slave-owner” essence. He repeated this on January 11, 2022, when he assumed his fourth consecutive term in government following a rigged election held with no viable political competition due to repression and imprisonment of his rivals.

This article was originally published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by Havana Times.