‘terrified’ by Russian troops in Central America
An exiled Nicaraguan journalist says she fears a growing presence of Russsian troops in her homeland as the country grows increasingly isolated on the world stage.
Berta Valle — wife of imprisoned Nicaraguan opposition leader and presidential candidate Felix Maradiaga — told The Post on Monday that Nicaraguans are “terrified” of dictator Daniel Ortega’s decision to welcome Russian soldiers to the Central American country after seeing what they’ve done in Ukraine.
“Ortega invited the Russian military into Nicaragua. Publicly, he says Russia is supporting the military training of the Nicaraguan military. But we are terrified, because our country is hosting an army that commits atrocities against civilians in Ukraine,” Valle said.
Ortega issued a decree in June allowing foreign soldiers to operate inside Nicaraguan borders for various training, emergency response and law enforcement purposes.
The law comes as Ortega’s regime distances itself from the West and draws closer to the Kremlin — expelling the European Union’s ambassador over the weekend while criminally prosecuting the relatives of his political opponents.
One of the few world leaders to back Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Ortega also recently signed a deal with Russia’s state-run radio network Sputnik, allowing the Kremlin mouthpiece to broadcast in Nicaragua.
Valle and others have expressed the fear that Russian boots on the ground in Nicaragua will help the dictatorship — run by Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo — to further develop its collective repression techniques.
Western analysts also worry Russia will use Nicaragua as a base for further espionage and intelligence-gathering operations.
“It’s very frustrating,” Valle said of the situation in Nicaragua. “The Ortega family has taken over all aspects of civil society. People are condemned and sentenced in secret hearings for violating fake laws.”
Ortega, a former Marxist guerrilla, first came to power in 1979 on a strong anti-American platform and returned to power in 2007.
Protests against his regime broke out in 2018 after elderly Nicaraguans were beaten in the streets for speaking out against social security changes, Valle told The Post.
Soon “indignant” Nicaraguans from different sectors, including anti-corruption activists, joined the protest, Valle said — sparking a government crackdown that extended to “students, journalists and even the Catholic Church.”
“We wanted legitimate elections and the opportunity for a peaceful transition to democracy but that didn’t happen,” Valle said.
Ortega has been a longtime ally of Russia since the Soviet era.
Valle was in New York on Monday to speak at the Oslo Freedom Forum, where she urged the international community to press for the release of more than 200 political prisoners –including her husband and six other presidential candidates.