Q COSTARICA — The co-presidents, ie dictators of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo, feel defeated and are using anti-imperialist rhetoric. “An attitude of defeat, not strength,” analysts say.
Days before being extracted from Venezuela, former dictator Nicolas Maduro declared: “Nothing and no one will take [power] from us, not today, not ever,” dismissing any intention of resigning. He also called Trump (in his limited English) “Not crazy” and labeled him an “imperialist aggressor.”
According to analyst Marlon Díaz, it’s the same script in the face of imminent defeat: “They act this way when they feel the weight of their actions upon them, and to feed their supporters by telling them: ‘We are strong and the Yankees can’t and won’t be able to.’”
Díaz also believes that Ortega could suffer the same fate as Maduro if he behaves in the same way. “This is how Maduro acted before being taken or extracted on arrest warrants issued by the U.S. Department of Justice against the Chavista leadership,” he pointed out.
Both Ortega and Maduro have used these moments of judicial and economic pressure (sanctions) to radicalize their rhetoric, presenting themselves as victims of a “kidnapping” or “imperialist aggression,” seeking acceptance from their dwindling base of supporters against a “common external” enemy.
“It’s not strength. Many say he (Ortega) seemed more coherent this time, that he hadn’t forgotten what he was going to say, and that he looked well; but they are defeated, and let’s not even talk about how much the sanctions hurt them,” the geopolitical expert stated.
A U.S. war veteran, Luis Quiñónez, a Guatemalan-born American patriot, Vietnam War veteran, and expert in regional security, asserted that the Ortega-Murillo family could end up like Maduro and Cilia Flores, since the United States already has compelling evidence against them.
On Tuesday, the 80-year-old Ortega, reappearing after being absent from the public for almost two months (55 days to be exact), said to be recovering from a health crisis, as hinted by Murillo and others in the inner circle, confronted U.S. President Donald Trump, calling him a “murderer” and “mentally deranged,” and demanded he lift sanctions.
The harsh criticism against Trump was made during an official event called “Peace Day,” amid rising tensions following recent sanctions against officials, associates of the regime and the Ortega-Murillo family.
In an openly confrontational tone, Ortega accused the United States of acting as a “power that threatens nations,” directly pointing to Trump as “losing his mind” and not being “in his right mind.”
Ortega also questioned U.S. foreign policy and asserted that Washington maintains a strategy of global pressure through economic sanctions.
“They should suspend the sanctions against Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua… the list is long. These sanctions threaten the lives of our people and violate international law,” he stated.
These statements come days after the United States imposed new measures against figures close to the government, including Ortega’s sons Maurice and Daniel Ortega Murillo, as part of a strategy to increase pressure on the regime. The United States sanctioned the entire network of gold businesses and mining companies that are part of a conglomerate operating on behalf of the Ortega Murillo family.
“Here they are exterminating to see who they can sanction, they have sanctioned so many Nicaraguans that they don’t know who else to sanction and with what authority, when we cannot forget that when they launched a war against Nicaragua,” said Ortega.
The US responds to Ortega
The United States government didn’t waste time in responding to the attacks by Ortega, making it clear that it will maintain its policy of diplomatic and economic pressure against the regime.
In statements given to 100% Noticias, a spokesperson for the US State Department emphasized that the administration will not change its course of action despite Managua’s confrontational tone.
“The Trump administration will continue to use all diplomatic and economic means at its disposal to defend U.S. interests and give greater visibility to the demands of the Nicaraguan people for freedom and a peaceful return to democracy,” the official told 100% Noticias.
“We demand the unconditional release of all unjustly detained prisoners from the dictatorship, the immediate cessation of repression, and the exercise by Nicaraguans of their freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly, free from fear of persecution or reprisals,” the US official added.