Secretary of State Antony Blinken attempted to make inroads with the foreign affairs minister of a regime; this regime is becoming increasingly autocratic and unfriendly to the United States on the margins of an international gathering in Costa Rica early this year.
Another Biden Diplomatic Disaster
Was that administration open to reconsidering its harsh policies? Is it possible an open and democratic election will be held later this year? Is it possible for Washington to send an envoy to talk?
According to a top State Department official, Blinken prodded his opponent for around ten minutes. When he wasn’t adhering to empty soundbites, though, the foreign affairs minister was at best unenthusiastic.
Blinken’s state visit didn’t go as well as he intended. In fact, the United States’ connection with Nicaragua quickly deteriorated.
Meet Rosario Murillo
I said at UNGA there are no "dictator's husbands" — Rosario is working hard to turn her husband into one. #Nicaragua h/t @nahaltoosi https://t.co/4sbqCdjyU1
— Ryan Heath (@PoliticoRyan) October 26, 2021
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, as well as his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, drastically increased their onslaught on anyone they consider a danger to their 14-year rule.
During mid-August, Ortega and Murillo imprisoned at least seven possible presidential opponents; they prohibited genuine opposition groups from running in the November 7 presidential race, thereby eliminating any serious competition.
In the Central American nation of 6.5 million people, they’ve also arrested or intimidated dozens of human rights advocates, corporate leaders, academics, reporters, and others.
The oppression was one of the most severe a nation in the Western Hemisphere has seen in generations. Ortega and Murillo have a long bloody political history in Nicaragua, with allusions to sorcery, colonialism, erotica, and Ronald Reagan thrown in for good measure.
Right now, according to US officials and influential Nicaraguans, they appear to have taken things to a whole new level, installing a police state with the purpose of establishing the dynastic rule.
The two are rejecting Washington’s cautions, restrictions, and visa bans, disregarding the complaints of other surrounding states, and associating themselves further with Moscow.
This comes as they hawk ideologically laced “magical realism” to Nicaraguan civilians, according to one US source. By holding the father of the producer for the hit TV program “Riverdale,” the two have sparked outrage in Hollywood.
It’s a Regional Disaster
Thousands protest in El Salvador against Bukele https://t.co/YWB7cV5KZk via @Yahoo
Salvadoreños should be thankful to God and Bukele that allow them to demonstrate. Nicaragua dictator Ortega would have jailed and killed them. Come, live under repressive Ortega appreciate freedom— Agualcás (@agualcas) October 18, 2021
Events in neighboring other regions of the world have cast a pall over Nicaragua’s strife. The growth of autocracy and the proliferation of corruption are two important concerns President Biden thinks the world’s governments cannot ignore.
If Ortega and Murillo have their way with November’s elections, it might exacerbate the hemisphere’s migrant catastrophe. Biden aides claim they are collaborating with regional allies and increasing pressure on the Managua dictatorship.
However, both Republican and Democrat senators in the United States, as well as other voices, argue the Biden government must do more (and do it soon) to break this cycle in Nicaragua.
