Ortega asks Parliament to ratify Nicaragua's entry to Russian forces | The most important news and analysis in Latin America

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has asked the National Assembly, under official control, to certify the entry of troops, ships and aircraft of the Russian Armed Forces into the country from July 1, they said Saturday (11.06.2022). Sources.

Ortega, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has requested that his presidential decree be granted “urgent action” so that it can be ratified as soon as possible. The initiative was put on the agenda next Tuesday and is expected to be approved on the same day because the Sandinistas and their allies have an absolute majority in Parliament.

Ortega allowed the entry of Russian troops into Nicaragua during the second half of this year to participate in “unlawful” operations in the Caribbean and Pacific Nicaragua, according to Presidential Decree No. 10-2022, published this week in the Official Gazette. .

In total, Ortega allowed an unspecified number of Russian soldiers, ships and aircraft to enter Nicaragua from July 1 to December 31 of this year, who will participate, among other things, in “exchange of experience and training in security missions.”

Also from Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela and the USA.

In the same presidential decree, Ortega authorized for a period of six months, starting next July, the entry of personnel, ships and aircraft of the Venezuelan Bolivarian National Armed Forces that will perform the same tasks as Russia. It also allowed the entry of soldiers from Cuba and Mexico, who would participate with soldiers from Nicaragua in “exchanges and actions of a humanitarian nature.”

In the case of the United States armed forces, the Sandinista leader authorized the entry of military personnel, an unspecified number, and unlike other armed forces, their presence would be “pre-planned and coordinated with the Nicaraguan army”.

jc (afp, efe)