Nicaragua redux

October 5th, 2005 at 15:38 Björn Hallberg

Looks like the United States is engaging in some sort of meddling, again, in the small Latin American nation of Nicaragua.

Agonist - The deputy secretary of state, Robert B. Zoellick, arrived here on Tuesday for two days of talks intended to rally support for President Enrique Bolaños against what the secretary called a “creeping coup” by the “corrupt and dangerous leaders of the past.”

And by “dangerous leaders of the past” they mean the Sandinistas of course. The political group deemed so dangerous by the US that they had to engage in assassination, aiding mass murder and supporting actual terrorists, as opposed to Al Qaeda phantoms. The only “creeping coup” here going to be the second coming of the “contras” in response to the inevitable fall of US puppeteering.

Countercurrents - The U.S. never invaded Nicaragua militarily, but they imposed an embargo that was crippling and painful. While the most militaristic act, aside from funding the contras, was the mining of Nicaragua’s harbor (for which the World Court condemned them with a steep fine never paid), the most damaging act was keeping needed medicines from a people embracing liberty for the first time in their lives.

Though one should note that this is much bigger than just having a socialist government or how to handle market liberalism. Just like in the case of Venezuela, there is a monster lurking in the shadows, stands ready to resume overlordship. One that and keeps Nicaragua fettered and docile.

Zmag - Sandino’s vision of Latin American dignity and autonomy, renewed and revitalised by Hugo Chavez, simply refuses to die. Both the US government and the European Union are anxious to keep Nicaragua as a loyal, secure satrapy of the US empire. Nicaragua is a country traditionally perceived to be strategically important for its location on the American isthmus. Just as it did in Haiti, the European Union will support the US government in doing whatever it takes to squash potential moves towards autonomy by Nicaragua through alignment with Venezuela. The current crisis in Nicaragua should be seen in that overall context.

Entry 268 filed under: Central America. This entry was posted 3 years, 2 months ago. RSS feed for comments on this post.