By Mohamad Hojeije | Staff Writer
The diplomatic relationship between the United States and Nicaragua is long and complex. The country served as a battleground during the Cold War, and the ideological conflict between these two nations has continued ever since. The recent deportation of Nicaraguan political opposition figures to the United States has brought back the complexity of the relationship between both nations.
In 1979, the leftist Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) overthrew the U.S backed dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza, establishing a new government. Eventually, in the 1980s, the Sandinista government came into conflict with the United States, as American paramilitary organizations supported anti-Sandinista rebels known as the Contras. The U.S. claimed Nicaragua was supporting leftist movements elsewhere, which posed a threat to the country. The Contra war was marked by human rights abuses on both sides and ended in a ceasefire in 1988. Thereinafter, the relationship between the two countries has significantly improved. However, tensions remain over several issues. In recent years, the U.S. has imposed sanctions on Nicaraguan officials accused of human rights abuses and corruption, and the current president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, has been criticized by the U.S. countries for allegedly suppressing opposition groups.
Recently, Nicaragua has freed 222 out of the 245 political prisoners, a unilateral decision. They were deported to the U.S., where President Joe Biden welcomed them. On Reuters, President Ortega claimed that the political prisoners were agents of foreign powers and sought to undermine Nicaraguan sovereignty. On the other hand, Nicaraguan opposition sources said that those freed have been stripped of their Nicaraguan nationality. Moreover, among the released prisoners are opposition leader Juan Sebastian Chamorro and former presidential candidate Felix Maradiaga, who said he was informed of his citizenship being stripped after he arrived in the U.S. Maradiaga stated that he still loves Nicaragua and will always consider himself Nicaraguan.
The U.S. government, which criticized the 2021 election in Nicaragua as a sham, had been pushing for the Nicaraguan government to free the prisoners who they claimed were detained without cause. Nevertheless, there seems to be no consensus on the nature of these political prisoners. While some see them as rightfully fighting for Nicaraguan democracy, part of the population believes that some were plotting a coup. Thousands of pro-government demonstrators marched Saturday in Nicaragua in support of the deportation of 222 critics of President Daniel Ortega’s government.