In a letter addressed to President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo, the two leaders congratulated the sister Central American country on behalf of the Cuban people and government, reiterating “our support, friendship and solidarity with you and the sister people of Nicaragua, who have defended the remarkable achievements made in recent years in the economic and social order, despite threats, sanctions and interference.”

“Be assured of our willingness to further advance in the multiple links that unite us,” the message concluded, on the occasion of the historic date that in 1979 marked the end of the Somoza family dictatorship in Nicaragua.

Likewise, the President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, noted in a tweet that the triumph of the Sandinista Revolution was an inspiration for the people of Our America and the world.

The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) has led the Nicaraguan people in a struggle to vastly improve access to education, health and social security, despite imperialist interference.

According to the current occupant of the White House, Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela constitute a so-called “triad of evil,” simply because we are defining our own destinies, following the path of independence with no imperial tutelage.

Given the little importance afforded individual Caribbean countries, economic coordination among nations in the region has found a sport on the agendas of states struggling for the sustainable development, on which their very existence depends. The sea, seen as our first unique resource, has served as a unifying force, both geographic and cultural, including our shared history of resistance.

The Caribbean’s economic structure is heterogeneous in terms of natural resources and degree of industrialization, thus the need to join forces. A population of 42 million lives in the region, 86% of which reside on the Greater Antilles, with the strongest economies being those of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic, which account for 76% of the regional GDP.

Some data speaks well for the region and promises a better future, for example, the Caribbean Human Development Index is relatively high, including a life expectancy of 72 years. What Cuba has achieved in 60 years of an alternative, anti-capitalist model has a significant impact on these statistics.

Nevertheless, other indicators justify the priority given to the economy by our nations, especially those related to inequality, inherited from the colonial era.

The most important body that has generated models of governance and solid proposals for the sovereignty of Caribbean nations is the Association of Caribbean States (ACS), which has managed to join countries of some economic weight with those needing to enter the international market and diversify their economies. The entity also functions as an effective network for international relations, at the service of our peoples and identities.

The Association of Caribbean States (ACS/AEC) emerged with the signing of a founding agreement on July 24, 1994, in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia. Its philosophy was to promote an economic environment of integration and prosperity in the region, a totally different alternative to the model advanced by hegemonic powers.

The ACS is an organization devoted to consultation, cooperation, and concerted action by its 25 member states and three associate members. Its focus areas are currently trade, transport, sustainable tourism, and natural disasters.

Special attention is afforded to the area’s ecological vulnerability in the face of climate change, a cause that does not have the approval of the world’s business lobbies or the Trump administration, and has been relegated on the agendas of many powerful nations.

The ACS works to ensure that the voices of countries, especially small island nations, are heard, demanding efforts to address rising sea levels and the increasing occurrence of devastating hurricanes and other extreme phenomena, due to the effects of global warming.

Protecting the very existence of these nations, a new model of non-invasive tourism is promoted, one that focuses on the vitality of communities and respect for original economic activities, which are the sustenance of many Caribbeans.

In short, the ACS is a model of integration that has remained firm on the Latin American stage, despite corporate and imperialist pressure, and various projects currently directed toward undermining the organization, on both the economic and political order.

Since 2008, the ACS has faced tremendous challenges as a result of the crisis of world capitalism. In this new scenario, countries are forced to seek a more regulated economies, based on common achievements and less subject to capitalism’s “invisible hand.”

Cuba’s search for an alternative world trade order favors the presence in the region of other economic actors and the diversification of development possibilities, avoiding the pitfall of being dependent a single trade partner.

The Petrocaribe program has been successful in promoting energy sovereignty for Caribbean nations, undoubtedly essential when the intentions of the United States are clear: to monopolize the region’s oil reserves and keep them under its exclusive management – the basic reason the U.S. has worked so hard to create a crisis in Venezuela.

Among the region’s most pressing issues are the tremendous weight of Puerto Rico and its dependence on Washington, which holds back a number of policies related to tourism and finance, and the U.S. blockade of Cuba.

So-called humanitarian crises, as in the case of Haiti, call for thinking about how to avoid the collapse of societies, looking for solutions within the Caribbean community that do not involve military or political intervention by world powers.

The ACS Summit held in Nicaragua likewise addressed the challenge of confronting the region’s militarization, which violates the Proclamation by the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in this regard. This remains a key point of dialogue, to resist new imperial plans, which seek to deny the Caribbean respectful integration within diversity.

ASSOCIATION OF CARIBBEAN STATES

National Secretary: Her Excellency Dr. June Soomer

- Nicaragua hosted the VIII Summit of heads of state and government, March 29. Nicaragua was elected President of the Board, 2018-2019, and assumed the pro tempore Presidency in March of 2019.

STRUCTURE

Council of Ministers and General Secretariat

Five special committees

1. Development of trade and external economic relations

2. Sustainable tourism

3. Transport

4. Disaster risk reduction

5. Budget and administration

PRIORITIES

- The Caribbean as a sustainable tourism zone

- Facilitate language training

- The Caribbean Sea initiative

- Coordinate an annual Caribbean business forum

- Defend interests of small companies

- Update building codes

- Strengthen disaster agencies

(Council of State transcript / GI translation)

Compañero Comandante Daniel Ortega Saavedra, President of the sister Republic of Nicaragua and of the VIII Meeting of the Association of Caribbean States;

Compañera Rosario Murillo, Vice President of the Republic of Nicaragua;

Distinguished heads of state and government and heads of delegations;

Her Excellency Ambassador June Soomer, general secretary of the Association;

Dear delegates and guests:

Our national poet, Nicolás Guillén, a singular voice among the great voices of this region, dedicated a short poem to the sea that joins us, with which I would like to greet you. It is entitled “The Caribbean” and goes:

In the aquarium of the Great Zoo,

swims the Caribbean.

This enigmatic marine animal

has a crystal crest,

a blue back, a green tail,

a belly of compact coral,

gray hurricane fins.

In the aquarium, this inscription:

“Be careful: it bites.”

This verse of Guillen’s speaks of the crystal crest that makes our Caribbean fragile. And also of the fierce beast that lives here. Fragility and ferocity distinguish us. Fragility and ferocity unite us. And unity, we know well, makes us strong.

Born of this strength, sustained only by unity, is the very timely Managua Declaration adopted by this meeting, with the title: “Joining forces in the Caribbean to confront climate change,” an issue that has generated growing concern over the last few decades.

As the Comandante en Jefe of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, warned almost 30 years ago, during the Earth Summit held in Río de Janeiro, in 1992, “An important biological species is in danger of extinction as a result of the rapid and progressive elimination of its natural living conditions: man.”

The Caribbean knows this well since it often suffers the impact. Surely for this reason, since its Second Summit in Santo Domingo, in 1999, the Association of Caribbean States has included among its lines of work agreement and cooperation on climate change and disaster risk reduction.

The causes of climate change have been identified by the scientific community and recognized by practically all governments.

But neither efforts made or international commitments in environmental matters are sufficient to stop the alarming increase in global temperature and stabilize it in the area of 1.5ºC, as developing countries demand.

More developed nations, who are mainly responsible for today’s unsustainable situation, must honor the commitment to provide at least 100 billion USD a year to support the work of developing countries.

The global commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions must prevail based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, within a framework of international cooperation that ensures the resources and necessary transfer of technologies to developing countries.

Required is the modification of patterns of production and consumption that have been imposed on us, and the promotion of a fair, democratic, and equitable international economic order, to confront climate change and achieve sustainable development.

Mr. President:

Each of us understands what is being talked about. The intensity and persistence of natural phenomena of various kinds in the Greater Caribbean constantly punish us with the adverse effects of climate change, particularly developing small island states.

Living with hurricanes has conditioned our lives; modifying our geographies and affecting migration. And it has also educated us in the need to devote more study to these phenomena that plague us and work to reverse the damage they cause. The Cuban Revolution was obliged to learn this lesson very early on, the hard way, during Hurricane Flora in 1963, which left the former province of Oriente under water and took the lives of more than a thousand people.

More recent history has shown that, in the worst moments, working together has saved us. We firmly believe that only our unity and mutual cooperation will allow us to face the dangers and effects of meteorological events and assume the subsequent recovery.

Solidarity must be a fundamental principle for the members of the Association of Caribbean States

Along this very line of thought, today, I would like to reiterate the unwavering support of Cuba, under all circumstances, to the right of small island states and developing nations to receive special and differential treatment in access to trade and investment.

We also support the just and necessary demand to receive cooperation according to a nation’s real situation and needs, and not on the basis of per capita income statistics that classify them as middle income countries and exclude them from access to financial resources, indispensable for development.

We welcome the election of Barbados as President of the Board of Directors of the Association’s Council of Ministers. We express our fraternal congratulations for this and for the country’s willingness to contribute during this period.

Dear delegates:

The President of the United States, the Secretary of State, and the National Security Advisor declare that the Monroe Doctrine is as relevant today as the day it was written, and that it is the country’s formal policy, as in the time of expansion and intervention of the United States in our region, of military aggressions and impositions.

These statements and consequent actions challenge our Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, signed by heads of state and government, in January 2014, in Havana, on the occasion of the Second CELAC Summit.

We declared then our permanent commitment to the peaceful settlement of disputes in order to banish forever the use of force, and threats to use force, in the region; to strictly comply with the obligation not to intervene, directly or indirectly, in the internal affairs of any other state; to foster relations of friendship and cooperation among ourselves and with other nations, regardless of differences in political, economic, and social systems or levels of development; to practice tolerance and coexist in peace as good neighbors; to the intention of Latin American and the Caribbean states to fully respect the inalienable right of all to choose their own political, economic, social, and cultural system, as an essential condition for ensuring peaceful coexistence among nations; to the promotion in the region of a culture of peace based, among others, on the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Culture of Peace.

The Proclamation also urges all member states of the international community to fully respect these purposes and principles in their relations with CELAC member states.

In this context, our nations must continue working together. It is our duty to protect peace, amongst us all, and preserve what has been achieved, confident that the current situation of confrontation and threats will be overcome.

Cuba, in particular, has been subject to an irrational and perverse tightening of the blockade by the United States, whose administration has unleashed, at the same time, a campaign of distortions, lies, and pretexts to sustain a policy of persecution and harassment that the international community openly rejects and condemns.

I would like to express our profound gratitude to all the countries of the region for their opposition to this irrational, illegal, and cruel policy against our people.

Beyond political or ideological differences, I call on all Caribbean governments to defend peace and oppose military aggression and the escalation of coercive economic measures against Venezuela that seriously damage its citizens and put the stability of the entire region at risk.

We also reiterate our solidarity and support for the government of Reconciliation and National Unity of the Republic of Nicaragua in the face of destabilization attempts, and we celebrate the negotiation process to ensure peace and preserve the social and economic gains achieved in this sister nation.

Faithful to our vision of defending unity within diversity, as on innumerable occasions the First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba, Army General Raul Castro Ruz, has asserted in forums like this one, we call on you to continue working together, concentrating on all that unites us, incomparably superior to the little that separates us, and to prioritize the fulfillment of agreements reached by the XXIII Council of Ministers regarding the strengthening and revitalization of the Association.

The Association of Caribbean States must continue to be the mainstay of Greater Caribbean unity, which is the only alternative given the enormous challenges we face.

Member states of this organization share the responsibility to avoid damaging the consensus that we have built together over the years, and to continue fostering solidarity, as an indispensable premise to develop actions on all the issues that are part of the organization’s mandate.

Cuba will continue working in favor of this unity and for the consolidation of our Association, and hope that this important meeting will contribute decisively to the effort.

Thank you very much!

Managua, Nicaragua.- Bearing greetings from the Cuban people, and especially Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, to the sister people of Nicaragua and the Sandinista government, President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez arrived in Managua, yesterday, to attend the VIII Summit if the Association of Caribbean States.

He was received on the tarmac of Augusto C. Sandino International Airport, by government leaders Sidartha Marín, Presidential advisor for international affairs, and Minister of Defense Martha Elena Ruiz Sevilla.

Díaz-Canel commented to the press that Cuba was attending the event “to confirm our support to the revitalization of the Association of Caribbean States, and of course continue defending the conviction that it is an important space for reaching political consensus, dialogue, and communication among peoples of the Caribbean.

“We are in a country of friends,” he emphasized.

The Cuban delegation additionally includes Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla; Ileana Núñez Mordoche, deputy minister of Foreign Trade and Investment; Cuba’s ambassador in Nicaragua, Juan Carlos Hernández Padrón; and Tania Diego Olite, Cuban ambassador in Trinidad and Tobago and the ACS.

The Summit has as its timely maxim on this occasion: “Joining forces in the Caribbean to confront the consequences of climate change.”

The most recent of these acts occurred August 15 during a demonstration called by the Nicaraguan opposition, when an armed group attacked the national water and sewer company (Enacal), teleSUR reported.

According to a local police communiqué, the suspected terrorists opened gunfire and launched home-made grenades onto Encal wells which supply the population of Managua.

Such attacks are part of an ongoing coup attempt against President Ortega, that has cost the lives of 198 persons, numerous human rights violations, and severe damage to the national economy, National Assembly sources stated.

During the last three months of violence, 252 public and private buildings have been destroyed, as well as 209 kilometers of streets and highways. Some 278 pieces of industrial and construction equipment have been burned, along with

389 vehicles, reported José Santos Figueroa, vice president of the National Assembly standing committee for Production, Economy, and Budget.

“This coup plan is characterized by efforts to interrupt and severely damage peace, security, tranquility, and the right to life of Nicaraguans,” stated Santos, a Sandinista National Liberation Front deputy.

Added to this are export losses valued at 270 million dollars, he pointed out, noting that the economy suffered a 7% deceleration in the rate of deposits and 10.7% in credit awarded to the productive sector. Through July 31, an estimated 68,000 jobs held by Nicaraguans affiliated with the Social Security system were affected.

As a result of the damage, on August 14 the National Assembly approved changes to the national budget for the year, with projected income and expenditures reduced.

Nonetheless, the amended budget guarantees continued funding for efforts to combat poverty, public investment programs, citizen security, and wages for public sector workers, according to Treasury and Public Credit Minister Iván Acosta.

TIMELINE OF A COUP ATTEMPT

- April 18

Some 60 government opponents protest a social security reform implemented by President Daniel Ortega. Three deaths and 37 injuries are reported.

- May 22

Some 76 deaths occur during conflicts. The Government denounces the plot as financed from abroad.

- April 22

Daniel Ortega expresses his willingness to hold talks to resolve the crisis and announces that the social security reform will be revoked. Looting occurs.

- May 23

The dialogue is suspended due to lack of consensus on the agenda: the opposition demands the resignation of Ortega and early elections; while the legitimate Ortega government rejects these demands and denounces the attempted “soft coup.”

- July 7th

Before a demonstration of supporters, Daniel Ortega refuses to hold the 2021 elections early, saying that elections will be conducted as mandated by law.

- May 16

The national dialogue is established, mediated by five bishops from the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua (CEN).

- June 16

The Ortega government opens the door to visits by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in order to demonstrate the intentions of those who promote instability from abroad.

- July 13

The opposition calls a second national strike.

- August 15th

The Government of Nicaragua declares unacceptable the presence in the country of a commission from the Organization of American States (OAS) considering it interventionist.

(Prensa Latina)

La Habana, July 19, 2018.

Dear Daniel and Rosario:

I wish to express my congratulations to you, those of the Cuban people and Communist Party, on the 39th anniversary of the triumph the Sandinista Revolution.
Over all these years, we have constructed indestructible ties of solidarity and brotherhood with Nicaragua and the FSLN. I reiterate our unwavering support and solidarity in the face of attempts to destabilize this sister nation, to overthrow the legitimately constituted government.

An embrace,
Raúl Castro Ruz.
First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuban Central Committee

———————————————————————————————————-

La Habana, July 19, 2018.

Esteemed Daniel and Rosario:

I convey my congratulations to you and those of our people and government, on the 39th anniversary of the triumph of the Sandinista Revolution.
We reiterate our solidarity with Nicaragua in the face of interventionist actions and attempts to destabilize the nation, which have produced unfortunate loss of life and significant material damage, undermining citizen security and the economic and social gains achieved.
On such a significant date, I wish to reiterate our unbreakable friendship and support, and unqualified willingness to continue strengthening the historic ties we that unite us.

A fraternal embrace,
Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez
President of the Councils of State and Ministers of the Republic of Cuba

(Granma)

The violent acts are presented as peaceful demonstrations by students, and the press publishes photos of those supposedly killed by the Sandinista government, but just as the truth will come out, the deception is discovered. Several have complained, demonstrating that the supposed dead are actually alive. One young man who resides abroad returned to state as such before the cameras, but of course this was not reproduced by the mainstream media.

U.S. author, journalist, and blogger Max Blumenthal recently published an article noting that a group of activists opposed to the current Nicaraguan government went to meet with leaders of Freedom House in Washington D.C. According to Blumenthal, the opposition group known as M-19, “were there to beseech Donald Trump and other right-wing U.S. government officials to help them in their fight against Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.”

The links between U.S. organizations and the events underway in Nicaragua and other parts of the world are clearly revealed in Blumenthal’s piece: “The NED (National Endowment for Democracy) is a leading agent of U.S. soft power that has meddled in other countries’ affairs since its founding at the height of the Cold War, in 1983.” And the author cites Allen Weinstein, a founder of the NED, in 1991: “A lot of what we do today was done covertly 25 years ago by the CIA.”

The budget with which the NED operates comes from the United States Congress, which grants it millions of dollars every two years, as part of the State Department budget. The organization also receives donations from four associations: the Smith Richardson Foundation, the John M. Ohin Foundation, the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, and Freedom House, indirectly funded by federal contracts.

Masked individuals, armed with homemade mortars and bazookas block the streets and incite violence in Nicaragua. Photo: www.telemetro.com
The money is distributed to the International Republican Institute (IRI), the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), the American Center for International Labor Solidarity of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), and the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which in turn distribute monetary and material resources to other organizations in the U.S. and around the world, and disburse money and materials for opposition organizations in countries whose governments are not to the liking of the U.S. government.

The report from this U.S. journalist identifies the culprits: “Aside from NED, USAID has been the most active promoter of regime change against socialist-oriented governments in Latin America. In Nicaragua, USAID’s budget topped $5.2 million in 2018, with most of the funding directed towards training civil society and media organizations.”

This is the same USAID that used funds from the Alliance for Progress, a U.S. “economic aid,” “political” and “social” program, a kind of Marshall Plan and the first big attempt to halt the prospect of revolution in Latin American and isolate Cuba, and finance repression. Instead of engineers, technicians, and skilled workers, USAID trained unscrupulous police, soldiers, paramilitaries, torturers, and killers; instead of factories, farms, and schools, detention and torture centers were built.

Let’s not forget that this is also the same USAID that financed the training of death squads, promoted “health” programs that concealed inhumane sterilization processes in Central America, and collaborated with CIA narco agents in the Iran-Contra operation.

USAID has created an extensive network on our continent, which attracts cadres, manufactures leaders, and penetrates civil society. A true interventionist army of “experts,” “advisors” and “consultants,” working to develop its subversive plans. In its first ten years alone, the NED distributed more than 200 million dollars in 1,500 projects to support so-called “friends of America.”

Serbia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Ukraine, Iran, and Venezuela; wherever there is a government that goes against the interests of the United States, these generously financed experts in destabilization and chaos swiftly act.

Mercenaries, delinquents, hirelings of the “Soft Coup,” of the “Color Revolutions,” or other “revolutions” with eye-catching and peaceful names, designed in Langley’s laboratories, such as the Rose Revolution, Tulip Revolution, Orange Revolution, or known by names closer to reality such as the Bulldozer Revolution in Serbia; where the purchase of uncritical consciences and deception, seduction through the use of attractive concepts for young people, and a lot of money, all the money that is necessary, are the soldiers and weapons of this new war. And of course, Nicaragua is now the target.

(Granma)

This is why it is so important to know, study and take into account the experiences of different countries besieged by sinister imperialist initiatives.

One cannot afford to lose one’s bearings because the enemy, from outside and from within, employs significant resources and all possible means to overthrow governments, create chaos and fuel ungovernability.

What is happening today in Nicaragua is part of that same script conceived in Washington and promoted, generally, from Miami.

Internally, the use – well paid of course – of organizations or groups unsupportive of the local authorities, constitutes a breeding ground for these subversive plans. The media takes care of the rest, shaping hypercritical public opinion to foment protests and encourage disorder.

Nicaragua is experiencing tense moments in which marginal groups inserted among young people and paid by those who oppose the Sandinista system have already claimed the lives of more than a dozen citizens, and have attacked commercial, radio and other, mainly governmental, facilities.

The script used against the Nicaragua of Sandino and Carlos Fonseca Amador, was used before against Venezuela. We must never forget that in the land of Bolívar and Chávez, so-called “opposition” groups, with their guarimbas (violent street barricades), burned people alive, used snipers to kill innocent citizens, sabotaged the electrical system and fomented a climate of terror aimed at putting an end to the Bolivarian Revolution; the same that has given homes to several million poor families, and has taken quality and free health services to the most remote areas of the nation.

The empire and the national oligarchy can’t forgive Venezuela for becoming a country free of illiteracy, thanks to the Cuban “Yes, I can” literacy method, and ensuring that the most deprived today have full access to culture and sports. They can’t forgive losing their ownership of the country’s vast oil wealth.

The resistance of the Bolivarian people and the astute guidance of their leaders have put an end to imperialist plans, but it is common knowledge that the threats have not ceased, rather they continue to increase with economic and commercial sanctions, and the manipulation of the mass media at their service.

Experience shows that the effects of such acts, when not overcome in time, can become the focus of intense media coverage, thus serving as part of the powder keg created to give the impression of chaos and ungovernability.

The use of the law, applied with severity, and according to each case, is the solution to stop the destabilizers, those who burn and kill human beings, or those who destroy public property.
The law is made to be complied with, and not violated by violent elements, mercenaries and other components at the service of their Washington paymasters.

I remember when Cuba was subjected to all kinds of provocations, bombings, infiltration of weapons, criminal sabotage, and even the invasion at Playa Giron. The decisive and rapid response of the people, their armed forces, the internal order and the effective response of the political leadership, who acted with courage, determination and speed, removed the cancer before it spread.

There is no need to renounce dialogue when it is well led, perhaps without the need for intermediaries. Foreign impositions or those of internal mercenaries fronting as non-governmental organizations cannot be accepted. The only way to deal with those who break the law, is to enforce it.

Dialogue must be encouraged, with the participation of the government and citizens. To hear opinions, propose solutions. It must be flexible, but at the same time energetic, in the defense of what has been built thanks to genuine revolutionary processes supported by the people.

In no case can those who are paid as mercenaries in the service of a foreign power have a seat at the dialogue table.

The people, the youth, in their vast majority, do not accept violent acts like those that are occurring today in Nicaraguan cities. They defend social achievements, health, education, cultural gains and others.

The achievements of the revolutionary and popular processes taking place in Venezuela and Nicaragua constitute a legacy too big to be put at risk and brought down by a few delinquents paid by their enemies.

At times like these, we can never forget the warning of Ernesto Che Guevara when he called us not to yield “even one iota” to imperialism.

And experience shows us that behind all these violent actions, those previously in Venezuela and now in Nicaragua, is the greater power, that which is not content with imposing cruel economic sanctions against our peoples, but committed to the destabilizing variant of chaos and ungovernability. •

NICARAGUA AND VENEZUELA: SEVEN COINCIDENCES

Unconventional weapons:

The use of home-made weapons to confront security forces seeks to create a blurred line between peaceful protests and the tactics of subversion and urban warfare, which leads to deaths attributed to the government, in the framework of producing a dossier on “human rights violations.”

Rumor-mongering campaigns:

Unconfirmed information is generated by psychological warfare operators, who use social media to create anxiety and panic. In Venezuela in 2017, opposition leaders led a rumor-mongering campaign to link the government to the use of chemical weapons and attract international media attention. This was also the case in Nicaragua, where the government was linked to the use of chemical weapons, a lie that fueled violence via social media.

Manipulating the death toll:

The numbers of those killed during violent events are reported without explanation and, as in Venezuela, the government is blamed. Thus, the pretext for intervention or a coup d’état is sought. In Nicaragua, the media becomes a chorus of ghostly reports that repeat the number of fatalities, confirmed or not.

Looting and damage to public and private property:

Armed groups in Nicaragua have looted several electrical appliances and even motorcycle stores in some parts of the country, and have caused damage to state facilities, such as hospitals and educational institutions.

Use of snipers:

In Venezuela, selective killings were carried out using snipers. From April 11, 2002, from the Euromaidan to Nicaragua, snipers have become a recurrent resource in coup-driven operations promoted by the U.S.

The use of influential figures from the entertainment world:

Manipulating the sensitivity of figures linked to the entertainment industry is a successful propaganda tool to capture support for the violent elements in increasingly broad layers of public opinion. In the Venezuelan case, there were plenty of celebrities demonstrating their prejudice against Chavismo.

Symbols and glorification of death:

The lists of deceased written with chalk on the pavement that are used in Nicaragua are similar to those written in Venezuela during the guarimbas of 2017, with the purpose of hiding the causes and laying the blame for the human costs of the violence with the government.

(Source: Misión Verdad)

These comments were made by Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) Deputy, Edwin Castro Rivera, during the establishment and election of the group’s board of directors, which saw Rivera chosen as its president. Also participating in the event was special guest and Cuban Ambassador to the Central American nation, Juan Carlos Hernández; as well as the President of Nicaragua’s National Assembly and member of the Nicaragua-Cuba Parliamentary Friendship Group, Gustavo Porras.

Upon welcoming the Cuban ambassador, Castro Rivera called on the group to revitalize parliamentary exchanges between the two nations and pledged to draw up a common agenda responding to the interests of both peoples.

Deputy Edwin Castro noted that one of the parliamentary body’s most important tasks will be to strengthen the fight against the economic blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba for more than 50 years.

“We will continue demanding the lifting of the financial blockade, because as long as it exists there will be no international justice, or justice in America,” stated the parliamentarian.

Composed of nine FSLN members, Gladis de los Ángeles Báez was re-elected as the group’s vice president, while Carlos Wilfredo Navarro was chosen as secretary.

For his part, the Cuban Ambassador to Nicaragua, accompanied by members of the island’s delegation, thanked the group for the invitation and above all for Nicaragua’s countless demonstrations of solidarity with the Cuban people and government.

In this sense he noted that the Nicaraguan people have expressed their support for the island in all scenarios, such as in the fight against the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba for over half a century, among other causes.

Meanwhile, Hernández also noted the willingness of Cuba’s National Assembly to broaden and strengthen ties with the group, as well as promote inter-parliamentary exchanges.

(Prensa Latina)

“Dear Daniel and Rosario, I congratulate you for this great electoral victory. Our America can continue counting on you to advance efforts to obtain justice and prosperity for our peoples, and the so-necessary integration of Latin America and the Caribbean” Raúl wrote in a message shared by Cuba’s ambassador in Nicaragua, Eduardo Martínez.

Likewise, Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry released a statement in which President Nicolas Maduro congratulated Daniel and Rosario for a “perfect victory for the FSLN.”

The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry issued a communiqué, as well, stating, “The government of Ecuador expresses its satisfaction with the excellent condition of bilateral relations between the two countries, and its intention to continue working with the sister Republic of Nicaragua within a framework of cooperation and mutual trust.”

Nicaraguan analyst Cairo Amador commented in a Telesur interview that the election shows that the Sandinista Front continues to enjoy broad popular support, the result of a policy of broad alliances with productive sectors and trade unions which have a vision of development and growth, while noting that Ortega has responded to the needs and expectations of the population.

The country’s Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) confirmed President Daniel Ortega’s victory in the general elections held November 6, after counting the votes cast in 99.8% of the country’s polling stations. According to the CSE report, presented to the press by Roberto Rivas, the leader of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) daniel Ortega and his running mate Rosario Murillo garnered 72.5% of the almost 2.5 million valid votes cast, according to Prensa Latina.

Rivas reported that the Conservative Party received 2.3% of the vote; the Nicaraguan Liberal Alliance, 4.3 %; the Alliance for the Republic Party, 1.4%;

and the Independent Liberal Party, 4.5%; adding that 68.2% of potential voters participated, and only 3.5% of the ballots were ruled invalid.

The CSE official reiterated his thanks to the people who exercised their rights and expressed their opinion at the polls.

“With 98.8% of the results at this time, I think we won’t make another public appearance; the results are here and this is going to be maintained when 100% are in,” he explained.

Thus Daniel Ortega has won his fourth term in office, the third consecutive representing the FSLN.

(Granma)