Why US targeting Nicaragua with coercive measures

By Stephen Sefton

I think that's very easy Nicaragua is an ally of Venezuela, and Cuba. And it has very very good relations with Iran, with the Russian Federation.

And that sets it firmly among the governments that the United States regards as its enemies. And, that's basically why the United States is currently targeting Nicaragua, but historically the US interest in what after all is a very tiny country of barely six and a half million people has to do with its geopolitical interests in Latin America and specifically in Central America.

So that's basically why they're seeking to engage in this aggression against Nicaragua even though it presents no threat at all to the United States.

In contrast to Venezuela and Cuba, Nicaragua has not yet suffered very severe economic sanctions. For example, there's been no trade boycott, as there has been in Venezuela, and there hasn't been anything like the sanctions that have been imposed for example on Iran, or the allies of Iran.

In the case of Cuba, as you pointed out, Cuba has been resisting the US blockade now for over 60 years. And it's a very heavy cost, but they've consistently defended their national sovereignty, their right to self-determination. And they've consistently condemned the US sanctions as being illegal.

So when there are different kinds of resistance. So for example, there's the resistance on a diplomatic front and Nicaragua, Cuba, and Venezuela has maintained very strong diplomatic relations with countries in the Security Council, for example, in particular, the Russian Federation, but also other countries internationally.

And that has been that has been one of the ways that they've been able to defend themselves against the ramifications of US sanctions.

In Nicaragua's case the United States is likely to ramp up and increase the sanctions, that is all.

Here we don't like calling them sanctions because we regard the measures that the United States is taking as illegal, coercive measures that have no basis in international law, because the only entity in international law that is entitled to impose sanctions is the United Nations Security Council.

So what the United States is doing and also its European allies are imposing measures against Nicaragua against Venezuela against Cuba, that are essentially illegal. And that in itself is those countries, a basis on to appeal to for support among members of the international community that are not aligned with the Western countries essentially the NATO countries, the United States and its NATO allies, who are seeking to impose their will not just in Nicaragua and Cuba and Venezuela but around the world.

And I think that's a function of their desperation. I think they're desperate because they can see that their power and influence and control over international affairs, and even in regional affairs is slipping relative to the emergence of countries like the Russian Federation, like the Islamic Republic of Iran, like China to positions of influence in the world.

And you can see that in the way, Iran was able to break the US fuel blockade against Venezuela. And you can see it in the way the Russian Federation and China has given tremendous support to Venezuela and Cuba.

And if the United States does decide to increase its sanctions against Nicaragua, we can expect to see the Russian Federation, the People's Republic of China, and also the Islamic Republic of Iran, naming the three countries, increasing their support for the Nicaragua.

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Stephen Sefton is a journalist who was born in Ireland, and now lives in Estelí, Nicaragua. (Estelí is not too far from our El Sauce, Rochester’s Ciudad Hermana.) Stephen has worked in Central America since 1986—mostly in Nicaragua, but also for a few years in Honduras. He does community work in Nicaragua that involves education, training, and health programs. Since 2008, he had also coordinated the Tortilla con Sal website, which publishes information about Nicaragua through a Sandinista lens.

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