Nicaragua authorizes the entry into the country of Russian troops, ships and aircraft for “humanitarian” missions

the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortegaauthorized the entry into the country of military personnel, ships and aircraft from Russia starting next month, as well as the departure of military forces and means from the Central American country on specific missions.

The provision is contained in a presidential decree published on June 7 in the Official Gazette and was confirmed by the official Russian press on Thursday.

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The decree authorized the entry “to participate in training and exchange exercises in humanitarian aid operations, search, rescue and rescue missions in emergency situations or natural disasters”. The activities will be carried out with the Nicaraguan land, air and naval forces from July 1 to December 31 of this year, the document specified.

Ortega It also authorized the entry of the Russian military and media to participate in joint operations with the local armed forces “against illicit” in Nicaraguan maritime spaces in the Caribbean Sea and in jurisdictional waters in the Pacific Ocean, it was indicated.

In the same period, Nicaragua will allow the entry on a rotating basis of 80 military personnel, ships and aircraft to participate in “exchange of experiences and training exercise in humanitarian aid”, and another 50 Russian soldiers, ships and aircraft to carry out “work confrontation and fight against drug trafficking and organized crime.

The decree also authorized for the second half of this year “the transit or parking” of military forces from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, the United States, Mexico, Venezuela and Cuba, “for purposes of exchange and humanitarian assistance of benefit mutually, in case of emergency situations”, stated La Gaceta.

Daniel Ortega It has been a staunch ally of Russia since its first government in the 1980s, when it received significant economic and military aid from the then Soviet Union and other communist bloc countries to confront the “contra” rebels.

After his return to power in 2007, he has concluded various economic, scientific-technical and military cooperation agreements with Moscow.

The Russian government reacted to the publication through the spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, who argued that the entry of foreign troops and military means into Nicaragua is something “routine.”

According to Zakharova told the Sputnik news agency, the procedure is already “established in Nicaraguan law for the temporary entry of military personnel to develop cooperation in different areas, including humanitarian and emergency aid and the fight against organized crime and drug trafficking. ”.

Last February, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov visited Managua and announced that the Kremlin wanted to strengthen that cooperation. “For more than 40 years we have been providing technological and military support to your Army, and we will continue to provide our support and we will continue to work in this direction as well,” the Russian senior official said.

Ortegafor his part, offered immediate public support for the Russian military invasion of Ukrainejustifying the positions of the pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Lugansk, in the Donbas region, where Moscow has strengthened its control through intense bombing in recent weeks.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.