Said Russian Defense Minister General Sergei Shoyuk Nicaragua, Russia’s allies in Latin America, Cuba and Venezuela, need “more than ever” to confront Moscow’s classification as “threats”, including “open use of military force” against those countries. They maintain a tense relationship with the United States. Shoaib did not say whether the three countries had officially requested assistance, but in a speech during an international security conference in Moscow on Wednesday, the minister noted the military’s previous military support for its members. Latin American allies.

“Historically we have established liaison relations with Cuba, Nicaragua, Venezuela and other countries. They have been resisting various forms of pressure for years, even threatening to openly use military force for years. Russia’s support is needed now more than ever, ”the official said. Published by government agency DOS. Shoaib also noted Russia’s support for the region in combating organized crime. His statements were made on the same day that the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the law. Baptized as RENACER, Which imposes sanctions Daniel Ortega In Nicaragua. The rule includes a section that allows the Biden administration to gather intelligence on Russia’s activities and interests in the Central American country.

Since the return of Sandinista to power in 2007, the Orthodox government has forged closer ties with Russia. In fact, one of Ortega’s first and only visits abroad as president came to Moscow in December 2008. This provoked old discontent in the 1980s, when Washington claimed that the former Soviet Union was a strategic ally of Nicaragua during the Sandinista Revolution. “The support of Moscow and Eastern European countries was fundamental during the revolution to sustain the civil conflict. Russia provided weapons, training and other resources for that war, and we never knew the quantities or resources managed with that assistance,” explains Nicaraguan sociologist Elvira Quadra, who specializes in conflict analysis and defense.

President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, Was amazing in 2014 When he made a surprise visit to Managua As a part of you Tour of Latin America. On that occasion, Putin and his wife, Ortega, arrived at the international airport in the Nicaraguan capital. Rosario Murillo, In addition to senior commanders of the Army and the National Police. Welcome Ordega Putin By embracing the comrades, he was already turning a blind eye in Moscow to show his loyalty: it was also one of the few countries that recognized the independence of the separatist Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Ortega also supported Putin’s policy on the Ukraine crisis and criticized Western sanctions imposed on Moscow at the time.

In return for this diplomatic support, the Russian leader funded a military training center for the fight against drug trafficking built in Managua, as well as helping to strengthen and modernize the military and deal with $ 26 million in natural disasters. Eight years later, in 2016, Russia officially announced the deployment of 20 T-72B tanks to Nicaragua, for a total of $ 50 million and $ 80 million in “technical-military cooperation” between the two countries. Russian Information Agency RIA Novosti He promised that Russia had already supplied the Central American country with 12 ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft security systems, two Mi-17V-5 helicopters and a “batch” of armored vehicles. Order from Nicaragua to Russia Among them were four patrol boats costing about $ 45 million. In 2019, in the midst of a crisis unleashed by Ordega’s repression against protests demanding the end of his decree, Putin sent a letter in which he called the former guerrilla “dear friend and brother” and said Nicaragua would “always be able to trust Russia’s help”.

“There is no explanation to understand the reason for buying those Russian tanks, or where the funding came from,” Quadra explains. “Military schools have military personnel trained in Russia and maintain exchanges of military personnel between the two countries,” he says. The expert continues that Shoiku’s statements are “the political endorsement of the Ordega and Nicaraguan armies” as the Managua regime is isolated internationally and enjoys sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union. “The Renaissance Act covers a particular interest in Nicaragua and Russia and refers to a number of issues that the United States is monitoring, mainly because of military relations. [la ley] It allows the United States to request periodic reports on how these relations are being managed, ”Elvira Quadra explained. Shoiku’s reports draw the attention of alarms to Nicaragua in Latin America and especially in the United States. These statements could heighten Washington’s concern in Central America, which could fall back into a worse form of power struggle. ”

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