During the last Nicaraguan civil war, over 250,000 Nicaraguan refugees sought asylum in the United States. The ACD was a one of the main “civil society” organizations incubated as part of USAID’s Capacity Building for Civil Society Advocacy (CBCSA) program in Nicaragua. Yet many democracies are also using these same technologies in troubling ways. The drama started unexpectedly in April 2018, with pensioners protesting cuts to their meager retirement allowances. Find out more when you subscribe to World Politics Review (WPR). Investigators found evidence of systematic repression involving violations of due process and freedom of expression, arbitrary dismissal of civil servants, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture and extrajudicial killings, amid various other violations. The security forces charged the men with trafficking of explosives, illegal possession of firearms, and drug trafficking. MANAGUA, NICARAGUA – A Nicaraguan right-wing extremist who was dubbed a “political prisoner” by a US government-funded NGO and subsequently freed under pressure by Washington has once again been arrested. ... Nicaragua March 30, 2020. May 29, 2020 - Explore Jason Greene's board "Nicaraguan Civil War 1979-90", followed by 790 people on Pinterest. In fact, while these criminals are wreaking havoc, the State Department, the US embassy, and the right-wing coup-plotting leader of the OAS, Luis Almagro, have continued to constantly call for more so-called “political prisoners” in Nicaragua to be released. A move of economic necessity, it also appeared to be another sign of President Daniel Ortega’s renewed confidence in power, despite international outcries over his government’s repression, which has resulted in 325 confirmed deaths and the arrests of more than 600 dissidents since last spring, among other abuses. Your FREE registration includes access to select articles, early announcements, and periodic discounts on our full-service subscription. Meanwhile, the growing prevalence of facial recognition technology in authoritarian countries like Russia and the United Arab Emirates, which use it to monitor activists and suppress dissent, has raised increasing alarm among human rights advocates. And as The Grayzone revealed, USAID appears to be gearing up for another coup attempt against the Sandinista government under the auspices of a new program called Responsive Assistance in Nicaragua (RAIN). Since these mass pardons were issued, numerous former detainees who had been individually named in the US-endorsed “political prisoners” lists have returned to their violent ways, and have been arrested again for severe crimes, including murder, rape, and alleged terror plotting. Sierra Leone Civil War Angolan Civil War Nicaraguan Civil War Yugoslav Wars Iran-Iraq War Initially, the United Nations had over 100 thousand troops it could call in when needed. Puedes leer este informe en español aquí. Now Nicaragua increasingly looks like a country on the brink of a breakdown. For treatment of earlier periods and of the country in its regional context, see Central America. Nicaraguan President Missing in Action for Nearly One Month and Counting. The main purpose of the revolution was to overthrow the corrupt Somoza Dynasty who ruled Nicaragua from 1936 to 1979. — Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (@StateDRL) June 17, 2020. The report, which covered the period from April 18 to Aug. 18, detailed the government’s initial, repressive response to the anti-government protests and the subsequent “clean-up” operation to forcefully remove barricades across Nicaragua erected by demonstrators, some during pitched street battles with police and security forces. Learn more about Daniel Ortega’s slide to dictatorship, the Sandinista National Liberation Front, and the threat of renewed conflict in the searchable library of World Politics Review (WPR): From spyware wielded by autocrats to expanded surveillance by police states under the cover of the coronavirus pandemic, new technologies are helping authoritarian governments entrench their power and target their critics. The Nicaraguan Civil War is more commonly known as the Nicaraguan Revolution. Key Mueller witness exposes key Russiagate lies, As Trump rejects US election, Biden signals continued regime change abroad, UK Labour civil war? The Nicaraguan Civil War of 1926–27, or the Constitutionalist War, broke out after a coup d'état by Emiliano Chamorro, a member of the Conservative Party, removed Nicaragua's democratically elected government, resulting in a rebellion by members of the Liberal Party.The conflict came to an end after a military and diplomatic intervention by the United States resulted in the Peace of Tipitapa. We applaud @oas General Secretariat’s April 9 call for ​the government of #Nicaragua to release all political prisoners in light of ​#COVID19 . On this Feast Day of Our Lady of Mercy, I stand in solidarity with all defenders of human rights from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela — and pray for the freedom of all political prisoners. And although violence against women is not nearly as widespread in Nicaragua as it is in Mexico or neighboring countries in Central America, femicide is still a concern, and the Sandinista government has tried to crack down hard on the problem. Ortega’s crackdown has Nicaragua at the brink of a breakdown. Download your FREE copy of Surveillance, Control and Disinformation Technology to learn more today. On the morning of September 14, Nicaragua’s national police force arrested two suspects in the department of Masaya, just south of the capital Managua. While the scandal attracted national media attention in Nicaragua, it was curiously ignored by the foreign press. Much of this was due to his economic and social policies. The report, which covered the period from April 18 to Aug. 18, detailed the government’s initial, repressive response to the anti-government protests and the subsequent “clean-up” operation to fo… Nicaraguan authorities identified the suspects as Danny de los Ángeles García González, 32, and William Antonio Caldera Navarrete, 39. They are also amplifying the spread of disinformation. Photos of the explosives, guns, and drugs caught on the Nicaraguan former “political prisoner” Danny de los Ángeles García González Much of this violence has targeted women. Students in Nicaragua are expected to hold new protests today. President Daniel Ortega’s crackdown on protests has driven the country to the brink. Latest News & Top Stories. (This neologism is an attempted gender-neutral form of the term “presos politicos” that is not used by Nicaraguans, and is employed almost exclusively by North American liberals cultivated in NGOs and elite academic institutions.). Nicaraguan security forces published photos showing the men had 10 sets of explosives with detonators, along with two 38 caliber revolvers, and 12 pounds of marijuana. Learn more, in Nicaragua’s Politics Are About More Than Just Ortega, Despite His Hold on Power for FREE with your subscription to World Politics Review. In fact, the accused terrorist Danny de los Ángeles García Gonzalez was named in a list that was compiled by the Washington-backed Comité Pro Liberación de Presos Políticos (Committee Pro-Liberation of Political Prisoners), a Nicaraguan NGO that is closely allied with major opposition group the Alianza Cívica por la Justicia y la Democracia (Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy), which was created during the 2018 coup attempt under direct supervision of the US government. The current violent repression of anti-government protests leaves little room for doubt that Nicaragua’s economic successes have come at the expense of democracy. Another US-funded opposition NGO, the Observatorio de Derechos Humanos Nicaragua (Nicaragua Observatory of Human Rights), also included this alleged terror plotter Garía González in its list of “presxs políticxs”. The website describes his previous date of arrest, during the coup attempt in June 10, 2018, as the “date of kidnapping.”. Faced with this heavy international pressure, Nicaragua’s Sandinista government was forced to the negotiating table with the foreign-backed opposition, and was compelled in 2019 to issue an amnesty for hundreds of people who had been imprisoned the year before. After the Great Solar Flare of 2020, the United Nations united together to …

In 2009 the Nicaraguan Supreme Court lifted the constitutional ban that prevented presidents from serving consecutive terms, paving the way for Ortega’s reelection in 2011. All of this stems from the attempted coup against Nicaraguan President, Daniel Ortega, during early 2018. Most of the convicts included in these lists were arrested during a violent coup attempt against Nicaragua’s elected Sandinista government in 2018. P.S. The man was caught with explosives and illegal firearms, and was allegedly plotting terror attacks against his country’s elected, UN-recognized government. But authoritarian countries are not alone: This technology is now being harnessed for law enforcement and surveillance purposes in many democracies. Arick Wierson and Javier Arguello Lacayo Published 12:22 PM ET Fri, 10 Aug 2018 CNBC.com The power couple in Managua seemed perfectly safe. Burning Aid: An Interventionist Deception on Colombia-Venezuela Bridge? Ortega dispelled the fake news when he appeared on April 15 to deliver a fiery televised speech in which he defended Nicaragua’s socialized healthcare system, called for world peace, and criticized the United States for spending so much money on war while its own citizens were dying due to a lack of healthcare. To learn more, read What ‘Normalcy’ on Ortega’s Terms Looks Like in Nicaragua for FREE with your subscription to World Politics Review. Stay on top of Nicaragua latest developments on the ground with Al Jazeera’s fact-based news, exclusive video footage, photos and updated maps. In late January 2019, the Nicaraguan government announced it was implementing the very reforms that triggered the widespread protests last year and led to a brutal government crackdown. The Nicaraguan Civil War of 1926–27, or the Constitutionalist War, broke out after a coup d'état by Emiliano Chamorro, a member of the Conservative Party, removed Nicaragua's democratically elected government, resulting in a rebellion by members of the Liberal Party. Alongside the Pentagon, USAID played a central part in the US coup attempt against Venezuela’s democratically elected government. Two failed attempts at dialogue last May and June were followed by more state violence against protesters, which raised the specter of civil war and allowed Ortega to regain the upper hand. But Castro Ortez had the fortune of being named in a US-backed list of “political prisoners,” so the cold-blooded killer was freed in 2019, and unleashed on Nicaraguan society. President Ortega subsequently said the courts would discuss the potential reform. 5 This instability plunged Nicaraguan citizens into poverty that has been largely inescapable to this day. 1988 - Hurricane leaves 180,000 people homeless. US government-backed Nicaraguan NGOs and their sponsors among the European Union and Organization of American States have refused to comment on the crimes committed by the former “political prisoners” whose freedom they lobbied for. In its press release on the arrests, the Nicaraguan police noted that Danny de los Ángeles García Gonzalez had previously been arrested, during the 2018 coup attempt, and had been charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism and possession of restricted firearms. Though the fierce street battles that threw the country into turmoil have ended, the crisis has not. After all, the former Marxist rebel, who overthrew a despised, corrupt regime back in the late 1970s and fought a U.S.-backed militia in the 1980s, has rewritten the constitution to make it possible to remain in power, while packing the courts and election boards and securing control of all the levers of power. He is the assistant editor of The Grayzone, and the producer of the Moderate Rebels podcast, which he co-hosts with editor Max Blumenthal. [22] The Nicaraguan Revolution was a revolution in the central american country of Nicaragua. The contra War killed 30,000 Nicaraguans and tortured/raped 100,000 (1981-1988). The government of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, had every reason to feel confident that the future was secure for their dynastic project. All along, he enjoyed strong popular approval. The aim of the program was to “undermin[e] the image of the Nicaraguan government at the beginning of the electoral process of 2016.” In the last two years, USAID audits, the most recent from August 2020, show that a further $2 million has been allocated under the same program. Nicaraguan president missing in action for nearly one month and counting. [SPECIAL OFFER: Want to learn more? During Nicaragua's devastating civil war in ... (COVID-19), walks by a mural depicting Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, in Managua, Nicaragua March 30, 2020. After decades of Somoza’s brutal dictatorship, anger and despair among the Nicaraguan people created the conditions for a civil war. Right-wing Nicaraguan opposition groups funded by the US government have published lists of hundreds of detainees they insist are being unjustly imprisoned. ... Ethiopia war appeal, and a viral victory in Congo. In late August 2018, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a blistering report on the political violence in Nicaragua that killed more than 300 people and injured more than 2,000 in the previous months. The police said both suspects “admit that the explosives would have been used to target the Masaya mayor’s facilities and monuments to [Sandinista] heroes and martyrs, and to spread terror and anxiety in the barrios of Monimbó, San Carlos, and Divino Niño.”. Video Documentary on Nicaragua, Lies Through Omission and Fake Evidence. Jeremy Corbyn suspended even as report vindicates him on anti-Semitism smears, Biggest trade deal in history excludes United States, What Biden’s election means for Venezuela, US military seeks to “create new base in Syria” – Syrian journalist, Como la nueva senadora socialista de Bolivia resistió el terror del golpe de estado: Conozca a Patricia Arce, Gobierno golpista boliviano detiene, expone y amenaza a observadores internacionales en vísperas de las elecciones, El ‘juicio del siglo’ contra Julian Assange: 10 razones para salvar el futuro del periodismo, Puedes leer este informe en español aquí, former “political prisoners” who have unleashed violent chaos in Nicaragua, Nicaragua’s elected Sandinista government, bloody putsch had the full backing of Washington, The Grayzone reported in February on the horrifying case of Ruth Elizabeth Aburto Acevedo, The Grayzone’s Ben Norton interviewed relatives of Aburto Acevedo at her family home in Jinotepe, Nicaragua, Nicaragua’s national police force arrested two suspects, Observatorio de Derechos Humanos Nicaragua, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Capacity Building for Civil Society Advocacy (CBCSA), US coup attempt against Venezuela’s democratically elected government, USAID appears to be gearing up for another coup attempt against the Sandinista government, fifth-highest rate of gender equality in the world, information war against its democratically elected socialist government, Comité Pro Liberación de Presos Políticos, Nicaragua’s Sandinista Revolution is still thriving, after 40 years. (Reuters) - Nicaragua’s parliament voted on Tuesday to amend the Central American country’s constitution to allow life sentences for hate crimes despite criticism from human rights organizations who contend it will be used to target political opponents.. Perhaps the most egregious example is in China, where the government has used facial recognition technology to racially profile Uighurs, a predominantly Muslim ethnic minority that is concentrated in Xinjiang province, and forcibly lock them up in internment camps. But with loads of cash pouring in from the US government, it has resorted to spreading fake news and destabilizing the country with sporadic acts of violence. By Nicaraguan civil society, July 09, 2020 . Anti-government protesters march outside Central American University, Managua, Nicaragua, Sept. 26, 2018 (AP photo by Alfredo Zuniga). The fear of a new Nicaraguan civil war cast a shadow across the region last year, when a government crackdown against dissent turned deadly. The US State Department relies on the Comité Pro Liberación de Presos Políticos’ data in its own reports on “human rights” in Nicaragua. The fact that much of the violence carried out by right-wing criminals has been directed at women is a source of particular concern for the Nicaraguan government. While these criminals have carried out egregious crimes, up to and including murder, especially targeting women, both the Donald Trump administration and the campaign of Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden have repeatedly called for more supposed “political prisoners” to be released. During the 1980s, Ortega was a leftist icon thanks to his part in the 1979 Sandinsta Revolution that successfully overthrew the right-wing Somoza administration. The US government institution launched this initiative nearly a decade ago in order to train opposition NGOs to destabilize the elected Sandinista government and eventually remove President Daniel Ortega from power. At least that’s how it looked on the surface. Present-day Nicaragua is still recovering from its legacy of dictatorship and civil war. As of June 28, the death toll in Nicaragua has reached 285, with more than 1,500 wounded. By 1827 fortunes had changed again, and his cousin, Juan Arguello, was dictator. A poll by a mainstream firm, M&R Consultores, found that around 90 percent of Nicaraguans supported the proposal of life imprisonment for deadly hate crimes. Ben Norton is a journalist, writer, and filmmaker. Editor's Note: This article was first published in October 2018 and is regularly updated. In late August 2018, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights issued a blistering report on the political violence in Nicaragua that killed more than 300 people and injured more than 2,000 in the previous months. A search of the Nicas Presos Políticos database that this opposition group maintains reveals that García Gonzalez was listed. With the threat of violent unrest in the past, how is Daniel Ortega now stifling dissent? The Nicaraguan parliament, controlled by the ruling party, today approved an Act mandating the state to legally claim a million dollar compensation to the United States, based on a 1986 ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for damages caused during the Nicaraguan civil war. They had been carrying bags full of explosives, guns, and drugs. 1987-88 - Nicaraguan leadership signs peace agreement and subsequently holds talks with Contras. Reagan's contras lost....mostly democratic governments have come and gone since 1989 all non contra, and today 2020 Daniel Ortega and the FSLN Sandinista's are in power again. See more ideas about Civil war, Nicaraguan, War. But the unrest in Nicaragua, less than 1,000 miles from U.S. shores, quickly escalated into a crisis that grabbed global attention, when the government there continued along its uncompromising path of repression. An anti-government protester is dragged away and arrested by police as security forces disrupt an opposition march coined "United for Freedom" in Managua, Nicaragua, Sunday, Oct. 14, 2018. The extreme political and economic volatility during and after the Nicaraguan Civil War prevented the implementation of necessary infrastructure and proper resource allocation. In response to several appalling cases of femicide in Nicaragua in September, including the ghastly murder of two young girls that sparked a nationwide scandal, Vice President Rosario Murillo raised the possibility of life imprisonment for men who kill women and carry out deadly hate crimes. Can Nicaragua’s Military Prevent a Civil War? All rights reserved. His website is BenNorton.com and he tweets at @BenjaminNorton. Release all political prisoners now unconditionally and cease harassing them and their families. 3 Min Read. Whether international pressure and offers of mediation will resolve the crisis remains to be seen. #COVID19https://t.co/USRtIyptHa pic.twitter.com/Qxh2ZIcB1Z, — Luis Almagro (@Almagro_OEA2015) April 9, 2020. Meanwhile, the violence carried out by the former “political prisoners” has only escalated. United States Presidential Election, 2012 (President Ventura) United States Presidential Election 2012 (LLB'sWorld) United States Presidential Election 2016 (LLB'sWorld) His Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) succeeded in expanding its base while other parties declined. International pressure on the Ortega administration has increased in recent weeks, but the situation in the country is still deteriorating, with tens of thousands of Nicaraguans having already fled into exile. These disinformation campaigns concerning “political prisoners” and Nicaragua’s crackdown on femicide are coordinated attacks in a larger information war against its democratically elected socialist government. — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) September 24, 2020. . But in a matter of weeks, everything changed. Get full access to World Politics Review for just $12 for 12 weeks and read all the articles linked here to get up to speed on this important issue.]. The United States, European Union, Organization of American States (OAS), and leading so-called “human rights” organizations have aggressively lobbied for the release of Nicaraguans who they claim are political prisoners. Picture taken March 30, 2020. @BenjaminNorton traveled to Jinotepe, Nicaragua to report the shocking story of how the US and OAS lobbied for the release of violent criminals behind a 2018 coup attempt, One man they called a "political prisoner" stabbed his pregnant girlfriend to deathhttps://t.co/6fA6TZOgmO, — The Grayzone (@TheGrayzoneNews) February 28, 2020.