Nicaragua will receive Russian troops, ships and planes for “exchange of experiences”

The dictator of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, authorized the entry of an unspecified number of troops, ships and aircraft of the Russian Armed Forces to participate in operations “against illicit activities” in the Caribbean Sea and the Nicaraguan coast in the Pacific Ocean .

Another measure approved by Ortega was the rotational entry of 50 Russian military personnel into Nicaragua to participate, with members of the Special Operations Command of the Central American country’s Army, of “an exchange of experiences and training exercises in humanitarian aid operations”.

The Nicaraguan dictator also authorized the entry of others 50 Russian military personnel, also on a rotating basis, to participate with members of the Naval Force, Air Force and Transmission Corps “in an exchange of experiences and operational communication with ships and aircraft of the Nicaraguan Armed Forces in tasks of confrontation and combat against drug trafficking and transnational organized crime.”

The Russian military, ships and aircraft will stay in Nicaragua from July 1st to December 50 of this year, according to the presidential decree.

In addition, Ortega authorized the departure to Russia of 50 military personnel from the country, on a rotating basis, “to participate in exchange exercises and military and training in humanitarian aid operations” over the same period.

Russia is a long-time ally of Nicaragua. During the first Sandinista regime (1979-1990), the Soviet Union supplied armaments to the Nicaraguan Armed Forces.

A Nicaragua is one of the few countries, along with Venezuela and the small island states of Nauru and Tuvalu, that have joined with Russia in recognizing the independence of the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, and it has hosted Russian government officials since beginning of the war in Ukraine.

Furthermore, at the end of 2020, Nicaragua established a consulate on the Crimean peninsula, a Ukrainian territory annexed by Russia, which provoked protests from Ukraine.

Mexico and Venezuela

In the same presidential decree, Ortega authorized for six months, starting in July, the entry into of personnel, ships and aircraft of the Armed Forces of Venezuela, which will perform the same functions as those of Russia. He also authorized the entry of soldiers from Cuba and Mexico, who will participate with Nicaraguan soldiers in “exchanges and humanitarian work”.

Regarding the United States, the Sandinista leader authorized the entry of soldiers – without specifying how many – and, unlike the other armed forces, its presence will be “previously planned and coordinated with the Nicaraguan Army”.

The objective, according to the dictator, is that the US military dock at ports and disembark at national airports in order to carry out “humanitarian aid operations and search, rescue and rescue missions in emergency situations or natural disasters, by air, sea and land”.

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