Central America
Ortega a shoo-in in ‘sham’ Nicaragua vote
AFP
Nicaraguans go to the polls Sunday for presidential elections dismissed as a “sham” by the international community, with all viable challengers to long-term leader Daniel Ortega locked up or in exile.
As Ortega, 75, prepared to claim a fourth consecutive term — his fifth overall — the United States described Nicaragua as a “cautionary tale” with a regime “determined to hold on to power at any cost.”
“It will be quite clear that these elections will have no credibility, that they’re a sham,” Patrick Ventrell, the US State Department’s Central American Affairs director said Thursday.
“We are going into a scenario where you have a dictatorship, and we’ll have to respond to such.”
Just over three years after massive protests against his rule and a violent crackdown that claimed more than 300 lives, Ortega is assured another five-year term with his wife and vice-president, Rosario Murillo, 70, by his side.
Seven people who had any real shot at the presidency are among 39 opposition figures detained in a brutal government clampdown that started in June.
Ortega, the leader of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), faces five opponents, though in name only — all are derided as regime collaborators.
The vote in Central America’s poorest country will take place without international observers and with most foreign media denied access to the country.
Nicaragua’s last opposition daily, La Prensa, had its director thrown in prison in August, and Facebook announced this week it had closed a government-operated troll farm spreading anti-opposition messages.
Amid the suppression, fear vies with apathy among Nicaragua’s 4.3 million eligible voters. Voting is not mandatory in the country of 6.5 million.
“There is no one to vote for. Daniel (Ortega) has it in the bag,” a 46-year-old woman told AFP at her home in Masaya, 35 kilometers (20 miles) south of the capital Managua.
She asked not to be named. “One cannot talk. You’ll go to jail,” she said.
– All sewn up –
A firebrand Marxist in his youth, Ortega ruled Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, after the guerrilla ousting of US-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle.
Returning to power in 2007, he has won reelection three times, becoming increasingly authoritarian and quashing presidential term limits.
Two-thirds of respondents in a recent Cid-Gallup poll said they would have voted for an opposition candidate on Sunday.
The favorite was Cristiana Chamorro, daughter of Violeta Barrios de Chamorro who is the only person to have beaten Ortega in an election, in 1990.
But Chamorro is under house arrest, and six other presidential hopefuls are behind bars in conditions their family members say amount to torture.
The jailed opposition figures are accused of unspecified attacks on Nicaragua’s “sovereignty” under a law passed by a parliament dominated by Ortega allies, who also control the judicial and electoral branches.
Election authorities have banned the country’s main opposition alliance, Citizens for Freedom, from contesting Sunday’s vote, just like in 2016 when Ortega won unopposed.
Three political parties and dozens of civic organizations are prohibited.
– ‘A complete sham’ –
A grouping of Nicaraguan and international NGOs this week urged the United Nations to investigate “gross human rights violations” under Ortega’s rule.
“Ortega will continue in power… and the repression against those who defend human rights and think differently to the regime will likely worsen,” said the group that calls itself Colectivo 46/2.
Apart from about 150 political opponents known to be behind bars, more than 100,000 Nicaraguans are in exile to avoid arrest — mainly in Costa Rica, Miami and Madrid.
For Ortega — whose main allies are Venezuela, Cuba and Russia — his jailed critics are not political prisoners but “criminals” seeking to overthrow him with US backing.
– ‘Dictator’ –
The wave of arrests has worsened ties with the United States and European Union, who have imposed sanctions against Ortega family members and allies.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has branded Ortega a “dictator” staging “fake” elections, and on Wednesday, the US Congress approved a law to ramp up punitive measures.
In the United States, Europe and other Latin American countries, opponents of the Ortega regime are planning protests for Sunday and agitating for a boycott of the vote.
In Nicaragua itself, gatherings of more than 200 people are banned, ostensibly as a coronavirus prevention measure.
More than 30,000 police and military have been deployed to guard 3,000 polling stations.
Polls are due to open at 13H00 GMT (7:00 am) and close 11 hours later.
The results, predictable as they are, are expected the same day.
Central America
Mass deportations begin: Central American migrants face unemployment and despair
Migrants from Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua account for 38% of all individuals with deportation orders from the United States. If Donald Trump’s mass deportation plan is fully executed, more than 200,000 Central Americans could be sent back to their home countries in 2025 alone.
But are these governments prepared to receive them and withstand the economic blow of reduced remittances?
“Look at my wrists. They put the shackles so tight, all the way down,” described a Salvadoran migrant, recounting his harsh repatriation journey in late January. He was on one of the first deportation flights under Trump’s second term.
“I have nothing—no money, no job, none of the opportunities I dreamed of,” expressed a Honduran migrant, who was forcibly returned to his country in early 2025.
These testimonies, documented by Central American media, paint a picture of desperation and uncertainty among recent deportees.
During his campaign, President Trump vowed to carry out “the largest mass deportation in history”. Since his return to the White House, images of deported migrants have dominated official channels, underscoring the high priority of this policy on his administration’s agenda.
Central America
Nicaragua rejects UN Human Rights Council following calls for ICJ Action
The government of Daniel Ortega announced on Thursday that Nicaragua is withdrawing from all activities related to the United Nations Human Rights Council. The decision comes after a report by the UN-appointed Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, which urged the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to take action against the country for revoking the nationality of Nicaraguan citizens.
“Nicaragua conveys its sovereign and irrevocable decision to withdraw from the Human Rights Council and from all activities related to this Council and its associated mechanisms,” said Vice President Rosario Murillo, speaking through official state media.
Central America
Panama may cancel Chinese port contract as Trump threatens to ‘retake’ canal
Panama’s Attorney General’s Office has recommended annulling the 1997 concession granted to a Chinese company to operate two key ports at the entrances of the Panama Canal, citing constitutional violations. The move comes as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens to “retake” the waterway, claiming it is under Beijing’s control.
The request was made by Panama’s Chief Prosecutor, Luis Carlos Gómez, to the Supreme Court, which is currently reviewing two legal challenges against the concession contract awarded to Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Holdings.
At the same time, the company is facing an audit by Panama’s Comptroller’s Office to determine whether it has fulfilled its financial obligations to the government.
According to Gómez, the contract is “unconstitutional”, and he has urged the court to invalidate it. In a document obtained by AFP, he argues that the agreement violates 15 articles of the Panamanian Constitution, as it “improperly transferred exclusive state rights, impacting social and public interests.”
Additionally, Gómez claims that the contract undermines free competition, grants unjustified tax exemptions, and that the automatic 25-year renewal in 2021 was agreed upon under unfair conditions for the public interest.
The lawsuits seek to void the contract that allows Panama Ports Company to operate the Balboa and Cristóbal ports, located at the Pacific and Atlantic entrances of the canal, respectively. The plaintiffs argue that the company has evaded taxes and received illegal benefits in violation of the Constitution.
The legal battle unfolds as Trump raises concerns over China’s influence in the canal, which the U.S. built and operated until its handover to Panama in 1999. Trump has hinted at taking back control of the waterway, despite the fact that it is managed by an independent Panamanian authority.
Washington sees the presence of a Chinese company at the canal’s entry points as a national security risk, even though both the U.S. and China are the top users of the strategic trade route. The canal, which handles 5% of global maritime trade, underwent a major expansion in 2016 to accommodate larger vessels.
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