China is expanding its influence in Nicaragua

Since the Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan, the bond of friendship between Nicaragua and the People’s Republic of China has strengthened in a number of strategic areas.

An example of this is the frequent meetings between high authorities of the two countries. On Nov. 16, the heads of Nicaragua’s National People’s Congress and National Assembly held a virtual meeting, a year after diplomatic relations resumed between the two countries, Nicaragua’s state-run news site El 19 Digital reported.

“The alliance between the two countries fits their interests perfectly. Ortega-Murillo has another ally to maintain his dictatorship,” said Jorge Serrano, security expert and member of the Advisory Team to the Peruvian Congress’s Intelligence Commission, on November 26. “China has a small country in Managua with a geostrategic location near the United States.”

Nicaragua broke ties with Taiwan, considered a breakaway province, on December 10, 2021 after the Organization of American States (OAS) and most of the international community had rejected the legitimacy of the elections that saw Ortega cling to power for the third straight year.

STRONGER ROLE

On November 12, this new political ally of the Ortega-Murillo regime handed over an undisclosed amount of equipment and defense supplies to the Nicaraguan National Police accused of genocide and gross human rights abuses, Managua daily La Prensa reported.

“This donation shows how China is beginning to take Russia‘s place in strengthening the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship,” Serrano said. “Moscow cannot provide those resources because it doesn’t have them.”

In April 2018, Nicaraguan police were accused of killing more than 300 civilians protesting against Ortega. In 2018 and again in 2020, the US government sanctioned the Nicaraguan police force as well as its director general, Francisco Díaz.

“The Kremlin is in serious trouble because of the conflict it has created in Ukraine and has therefore ceded its hegemonic role in Nicaragua to China, which will also supply arms to the Nicaraguan security forces,” Serrano said. “Beijing […] will completely swallow up Nicaragua.”

The regime’s violence is not only carried out by the police, but also by paramilitary units acting with the complicity of the regime, the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights said in a report.

Since the resumption of diplomatic relations between China and Nicaragua, both countries have signed several cooperation agreements to provide mechanisms for political consultations, as well as support to commercial participation agreements.

DESTABILIZING FACTOR

“China is relentlessly advancing in the Caribbean region,” Serrano reiterated. “Nicaragua is a destabilizing factor in the region and China’s presence will, under the law of political gravity, draw another country as a satellite on its axis. Beijing is very adept at this. We’re not just talking about one country anymore.”

In this new role, China could “facilitate, support, encourage and incite the dictatorship in Nicaragua in exchange for protections and resources it will provide to facilitate the transit of drugs and chemical precursors to fentanyl for the Mexican cartels to import produce,” added Serrano.

China’s influence in Latin America poses many risks, from encouraging corruption to increasing threats to countries’ security and environmental abuses.

MORE INTERNATIONAL PRESSURE

In April, the OAS called on the Ortega-Murillo regime to end its system of repression and urged the international community to increase political pressure on the regime to return Nicaragua to the democratic path.

“International pressure must first come from our continent through a high-level OAS commission. If the dictatorship refuses, which is very likely, it must be barred from credit from the international financial system,” concluded Serrano. “More political and economic pressure must now be applied. China is more determined to position itself in Nicaragua.”

With information from latinapress

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