Uncle Sam Has the Floor
Published in La Prensa
(Nicaragua) on 24 July 2020
by Guillermo E. Miranda (link to original)
Anyone who expected that Daniel Ortega would say anything worth mentioning this past July 19 is once again left waiting. This is why I am going to refer to what was not said, leaving out everything related to the esoteric symbols attributed to the outline of the star and the arrangement of the chairs. In short, if anyone thought that the supernatural would happen, it didn’t.
But, getting back to the subject, the title of this article is “Uncle Sam Has the Floor,” because I believe that all of the subliminal and not so subliminal messages were directed at the United States government.
We will begin with those who accompanied Ortega on the platform: All of them — without exception — were sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department. If this wasn’t a direct message to the White House, then I don't know what it was.
For a long time now, every paper runs the same headline on the day after the celebration of the anniversary of Anastasio Somoza Debayle’s fall: It seems as though Ortega lives in another world; he spoke so long; he said nothing, etc.
Nothing could be further from the truth. His failure to mention the issues troubling the country or the demands of the people to end the repression and corruption, to free political prisoners and for necessary changes in the electoral system is striking because of their omission.
Instead, he gave a detailed explanation of the cause of the death of the last 12,000 people. With that bland delivery, he was in fact telling us that nothing that is important to the international community and to our people is of any importance to our government.
The message was clear: I govern by my own rules and I don’t care about the sanctions. It goes without saying that this is reckless, unless Daniel has already read the book by former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, which suggests that his former boss, among other things, is an entrepreneur without any political ideology. One thing for sure is that this is bad news for our democracy.
However, in continuing my analysis, I think that mentioning the current U.S. ambassador after making a reference to the assassination of Augusto Calderon Sandino was also not random.
In conclusion, it should be more than clear to the current U.S. administration that Ortega has too many commitments to be swayed by individual sanctions.
If change is truly the goal, then it is necessary to first change the focus of policy toward Nicaragua. Otherwise, the dictatorship will follow in the footsteps of Nicolas Maduro and our people will continue to suffer its abuses and violations.
But, getting back to the subject, the title of this article is “Uncle Sam Has the Floor,” because I believe that all of the subliminal and not so subliminal messages were directed at the United States government.
We will begin with those who accompanied Ortega on the platform: All of them — without exception — were sanctioned by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Treasury Department. If this wasn’t a direct message to the White House, then I don't know what it was.
For a long time now, every paper runs the same headline on the day after the celebration of the anniversary of Anastasio Somoza Debayle’s fall: It seems as though Ortega lives in another world; he spoke so long; he said nothing, etc.
Nothing could be further from the truth. His failure to mention the issues troubling the country or the demands of the people to end the repression and corruption, to free political prisoners and for necessary changes in the electoral system is striking because of their omission.
Instead, he gave a detailed explanation of the cause of the death of the last 12,000 people. With that bland delivery, he was in fact telling us that nothing that is important to the international community and to our people is of any importance to our government.
The message was clear: I govern by my own rules and I don’t care about the sanctions. It goes without saying that this is reckless, unless Daniel has already read the book by former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton, which suggests that his former boss, among other things, is an entrepreneur without any political ideology. One thing for sure is that this is bad news for our democracy.
However, in continuing my analysis, I think that mentioning the current U.S. ambassador after making a reference to the assassination of Augusto Calderon Sandino was also not random.
In conclusion, it should be more than clear to the current U.S. administration that Ortega has too many commitments to be swayed by individual sanctions.
If change is truly the goal, then it is necessary to first change the focus of policy toward Nicaragua. Otherwise, the dictatorship will follow in the footsteps of Nicolas Maduro and our people will continue to suffer its abuses and violations.
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