The Right of the Nicaraguan Revolution to Defend Itself

July 13, 2021

The Trump administration specifically targeted the so-called “Troika of Tyranny” – Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua – with punishing illegal sanctions aimed at regime change. That policy of US domination did not start with Trump, nor is it ending with the new US administration. Rather Biden continues the trajectory: Cuba’s medical missions abroad are slandered as “human trafficking;” the US security asset Juan Guaidó is still promoted as the president of Venezuela; and the upcoming presidential elections in Nicaragua are being undermined.

Lamentably a recent Open Letter to the Nicaraguan Government from U.S. Solidarity Workers 1979-1990 echoes the US imperial talking points. This letter is based on three problematic premises regarding Nicaragua, which many other international solidarity activists from the 1980s would contend:

Accusing the Nicaraguan government. The open letter claims the Ortega “regime” is guilty of “crimes against humanity.” In fact, Nicaragua is by far the most progressive country in Central America under the Sandinista government. Poverty and extreme poverty have been halved, and the UN Millennium Development Goal of cutting malnutrition by half has been achieved. Basic healthcare and education are free, and illiteracy has been virtually eliminated, while boasting of the highest level of gender equality in the Americas. These are not the hallmarks of a dictatorship.

Defending 2018 attempted coup. The open letter claims the 2018 coup attempt was simply a “demonstration of self-determination.” While the open letter correctly notes that the events of 2018 reflected an element of popular discontent, the letter renders invisible the millions of dollars and many years of US sponsored subversion in Nicaragua and the social media campaign of false information orchestrated by US-sponsored groups, fueling viciously violent protests. No progressive alternative was offered by the opposition in 2018, which was an attempt to achieve by violent means what could not be achieved democratically at the ballot box.

Whose revolution? The open letter claims the Nicaraguan government “in no way represents the values, principles and goals of the Sandinista revolution.” We believe it is an affront to the Nicaraguan people for foreigners to tell them how to make their revolution. That is why the November 2021 election should be protected, free of interference by the US and its funded NGOs.

The recent actions of the Nicaraguan government prosecuting people who break their laws is a normal function of governance. That some of the accused perpetrators may have political aspirations does not immunize those individuals from arrest for unlawful activities. These activities, it should be noted, are similarly prohibited in the US under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

While acknowledging “the long and shameful history of U.S. government intervention,” the open letter does not – and this is the key point – acknowledge the right of the Nicaraguan revolution to defend itself. On the contrary, their implied endorsement of the 2018 coup attempt is a call for regime change by non-democratic means and an implicit pass to US interference.

The open letter’s finding that “the crimes of the U.S. government – past and present – are not the cause of, nor do they justify or excuse” the behavior of the current government in Nicaragua is a door that swings two ways. Whatever the alleged wrongdoings of the Ortega government, that still does not justify the US government’s regime change campaign. US intervention needs to be condemned, and the open letter is thunderously silent on this.

The Nicaraguan government has prioritized the needs of poor and working people and have made astounding progress on multiple fronts. This is why they are being targeted for regime change, and why the Nicaraguans have taken measures to thwart US intervention.

The Task Force on the Americas affirms the Nicaraguan’s right to defend itself.  The people of Nicaragua have the right to select their leaders, and there is plenty of evidence that they are in the process of doing exactly that, in accordance with their electoral laws, this very year.

We encourage you to read and sign this open letter which calls for an end to U.S. interference in Nicaragua’s internal affairs.