Biden Declares Another “National Emergency” Due to the Threat Posed by Tiny Nicaragua

Photo Source: White House – Public domain

In the final days of his administration, President Biden must have needed a reminder from his officials on November 22. Nicaragua still had to decide whether it posed “an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.” He acknowledged that it probably was, because he renewed Trump’s “national security threat” status for another year, repeating a designation that began during his last presidency.

as numbers Latin American Security and Defense Network demonstrationThis “threat” comes from a state that spends almost half of its national income on defense, less than other countries in the hemisphere. It even spends slightly less than neighboring Costa Rica, which has no military. Its total national income (GDP) is equivalent to a small US city. Its population of seven million has the second lowest income per capita in the region.

Source: REDAL, 2024 Atlas Comparativo de la Defense en América Latina y el Caribe.

What kind of “unusual and extraordinary threat” does Nicaragua pose to a country with 50 times its population and the largest military budget in the world, whose southern border is already nearly 2,000 miles away? according to White House press releaseThe first threat is the Nicaraguan government’s “violent response” to the attempted coup more than six years ago, which we neglect to mention: instigated by the USA. This attempt at legitimization reverses the story of what happened. The uprising that shook Nicaragua lasted about three months. officially concluded at 251 deaths (including 22 police officers; others put the total number of deaths higher) and more than 2,000 wounded. IT Allegedly “It caused 1 billion dollars of economic damage” collapse. (After years of sustained growth, GDP fallen by 3.4% in 2018). What other government would not respond to such a damaging attack on its country?

According to Washington, further “threats” arise because the Nicaraguan government is “undermining democracy”, committing “indiscriminate violence” against its citizens, and destabilizing its economy through “corruption”. Aside from the fact that these are gross distortions of reality in Nicaragua and, in any case, blatant hypocrisy, nothing in the press release—even if true—suggests that these conditions would pose any threat to the United States, let alone “unusual and”. someone who is “extraordinary”.

Or could it be something else? Recently, in response to Nicaragua’s support for the liberation of Palestine, the Israeli regime made allegations “Radical Iranian forces and terrorist groups operate freely in the country,” again without evidence, presumably hoping to encourage Washington to add Nicaragua to its list of “state sponsors of terrorism.” However, this is not mentioned in the White House press release.

Still, could Nicaragua’s “threat” to the United States stem from its international relations? Gen. Laura Richardson, until recently head of U.S. Southern Command, placed the blame on Russia. “malicious activities” In the region connected to Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. Nicaragua’s growing relationship with China is also seen as problematic; Taiwan warns that China’s planned deep-water port for Nicaragua’s Bluefields will be its own port. “maritime outpost” In Central America. But Nicaragua is not alone in developing close relations with major powers that Washington sees as key rivals. Peru’s Chinese-built port Seen as a threat by General Richardson. Many other countries in the region, including Brazil, now have close ties with China and, to a lesser extent, Russia. In part, the impetus behind these links is a desire to be less dependent on the United States and insure against economic sanctions.

Of course, if there is a country that exhibits threatening behavior here, it is the USA itself. Sponsorship of the 2018 coup attempt included the US embassy in Managua and funding from organizations such as USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy.because they boasted back then) trained 8,000 young Nicaraguans to join the coup. Washington has been trying to undermine Nicaragua’s Sandinista government since it returned to power in 2007. The government has repeatedly refused to accept the results of democratic elections, sanctioned numerous Nicaraguan officials, and provided development loans through institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Agency. Fund blocked for the last six yearsNicaraguan government wrongly accused He was accused of “plundering immigrants” and encouraged the public to do so immigrate to the USA. Ministry of Foreign Affairs gave advice to tourists not to visit according to a country an international Gallup poll“the most peaceful place in the world”.

Nicaragua has been bullied on and off by its immediate neighbor for 17 years; but this, of course, is only a brief chapter in the history of US intervention, which began in 1854 when US warships were sent to threaten Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast. This later included the two-decade-long occupation of the country by US Marines, Washington’s support for the Somoza dictatorship for another four decades, and then its sponsorship of the “Contra” war under the Reagan administration in the 1980s that cost the lives of 30,000 Nicaraguans. Of course, the compensations ordered by the World Court for the economic damage caused by this war were never paid.

So it’s not just Washington that is guilty of threatening behavior, Biden’s statement and his administration’s policies towards Nicaragua also reinforce this by labeling Nicaragua a pariah state. “pantomime” selections And where its people fled “communism” and “political persecution”. This labeling is of course later repeated by the corporate media.

Nicaragua can expect new threats from Washington in 2025. Marco Rubio has been appointed as the Trump administration’s Secretary of State and acts as follows: Trump’s “sniper” against the governments of Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela. It is likely that one of the targets is money sent by immigrants in the USA. As in neighboring Central American countries One quarter of Nicaragua’s national incomeAnd soon they may both fall ’cause Trump plans to tax them and for promising to deport the majority of immigrants who would return to their home countries unemployed.

Those looking for evidence of the “threat” the country poses to US interests would do well to look at the developments in Nicaragua. For example, a new report The UN’s Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) has shown that it is one of the countries in the region that invests the most in public health services in proportion to its population. Healthcare in Nicaragua is free and has the largest number of public hospitals in Central America, many of which have been recently built or modernized. ECLAC’s figures show that although per capita income is among the lowest, life expectancy in Nicaragua is one of the longest in Latin America. ECLAC showed that Nicaragua spends a large portion of its national budget on social investment, and this is reflected not only in comprehensive healthcare but also in education, social housing, transportation, electricity and drinking water coverage, and progress in the transition to renewable energy. . Sandinista government current plan to reduce poverty shows that initial efforts led to a drop in the proportion of Nicaraguans from 48.3 percent in 2005 to 24.9 percent in 2016. Clearly those planning the 2018 coup attempt saw the “threat” presented by improved public services, as the violence deliberately targeted city halls. , health centres, universities, schools and facilities for pregnant women (Casas maternas).

In 1985, at the height of the Contra war, the charity Oxfam published: a book beneficiary Nicaragua: Threat of a Good Example? At the time, Nicaragua’s achievements in raising literacy levels, improving food security, and bringing public services to remote rural areas were legendary, but were necessarily very limited due to a U.S. trade embargo and U.S.-funded attacks on health and educational facilities and workers. Perhaps in 2024, when a popularly elected government has 17 years to improve public services and reduce poverty, the results obvious to all, Nicaragua may indeed be the “good example” that Washington finds so threatening.