A congresswoman from Florida is firing back after the Nicaraguan regime slammed her legislation to shut down their access to loans.
Last week, U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., one of the leading Republicans on Capitol Hill on foreign policy, scored a win as the House also passed her “Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act” (NICA) without opposition.
The bill, which U.S. Rep. Albio Sires, D-NJ, the ranking Democrat on the U.S. House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee, opposed “loans at international financial institutions for the government of Nicaragua, other than to address basic human needs or promote democracy, unless the government of Nicaragua is taking effective steps to hold free, fair, and transparent elections, and for other purpose.” Seven Florida Republicans--U.S. Reps. Bilirakis, Ander Crenshaw, Curbelo, DeSantis, Diaz-Balart, Tom Rooney and Ted Yoho--co-sponsored the bill.
Nicaragua is an increasing concern on Capitol Hill as that Latin American nation continues to build ties with Russia and Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega, a frequent critic of the U.S., is running for a third term and has refused international monitoring of the election.
On Wednesday, after her bill was passed, Ros-Lehtinen took aim at Ortega, insisting he was taking more power and cracking down on democratic efforts.
“Daniel Ortega continues to consolidate power and trample on the rule of law and democratic foundations of Nicaragua which has led to economic and political instability in the country.” Ros-Lehtinen said. “This bill is aimed at holding Ortega and his regime accountable for violating human rights and manipulating the electoral process for his own political gain. In addition, the NICA Act directs the Department of State to issue a report on how Nicaraguan regime officials in the Supreme Electoral Council, the National Assembly, or the judicial systems are directly involved in acts of public corruption and human rights violations. By passing this bill, the House has taken action to prevent Ortega from accessing international funds until reforms are implemented that promote democracy, strengthen the rule of law, respect human rights, and until Nicaragua holds free, fair and transparent elections overseen by electoral observers. We will continue to support the people of Nicaragua and assist civil society in democracy and governance programs but we must not allow Ortega to continue down this dangerous path without any serious repercussions.”
The Nicaraguan regime fired back in a statement sent to McClatchy.
“We reject as a violation of International Law and the United Nations Charter, the proposals and Initiatives presented in the House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States that are part of a pattern of historic interventionist policies in our Rightful and Sovereign Political, Social and Economic Processes, especially in an intensive way during Electoral Moments,” the Nicaraguan government told McClatchy.
“Ortega has accused me of being ‘involved in disinformation and intimidation campaigns,’ but the reality is that he is merely projecting his acts of repression on me and demonstrating his unease that the international community has begun to take notice of the way he has eroded democratic processes in Nicaragua,” Ros-Lehtinen said at the end of last week. “The NICA Act is solely based on facts – easily verifiable and politically motivated actions that Ortega has undertaken to undermine the democratic process in Nicaragua.
“The facts are clear: Ortega says that he is committed to peace, yet orders the police and military to commit human rights violations and intimidate the Nicaraguan people, including through the use of Russian tanks; Ortega claims he is committed to good governance, but under his regime, the only good governance is where his family, and only his family, controls Nicaragua’s institutions," she added. “Ortega professes his commitment to dialogue and consensus, yet he has used his power to unjustly dismiss 28 members of the opposition from their seats in the National Assembly while appointing his wife as his running-mate to cement his family’s hold on power through a dynasty.
“Ortega’s baseless accusations are just his latest attempt to detract attention away from the human rights abuses and the acts of corruption and intimidation he has been perpetrating in Nicaragua, but nobody is being fooled," Ros-Lehtinen concluded. “Ortega likes to pretend that his abusive actions are in accordance with international norms, yet Article 3 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter calls for free and fair elections which do not exist in Nicaragua. There has been a clear disruption of the democratic order in Nicaragua and I urge responsible nations in our Hemisphere and the Organization of American States to invoke Article 20 of the Inter-American Democratic Charter to convene an immediate session of the Permanent Council in order to foster the restoration of democracy in Nicaragua.”
Now the chairwoman of the House Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, Ros-Lehtinen used to chair the House Foreign Affairs Committee before being termed out. She currently sits on the House Western Hemisphere Subcommittee.
