Nicaragua Network

1. Canal feasibility studies delayed until end of year
2. Media outlets review 2013 and look forward to 2014
3. Roberto Bendaña, indicted in fraud case, flees Nicaragua
4. Carter family vacations in Nicaragua
5. Government moves to reduce forest fires
6. Illegal weapons destroyed
7. Cell phone registrations exceed population
8. INTERPOL takes Eden Pastora off list
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1. Canal feasibility studies delayed until end of year

On Jan. 4, Manuel Coronel Kautz, head of the Inter-Oceanic Canal Authority, announced that the feasibility studies for the proposed shipping canal across Nicaragua will not be completed until the third trimester of this year and therefore construction could not begin until the end of 2014 or the beginning of 2015.  A concession was granted in June of 2013 to the HKND Group of Chinese businessman Wang Jing to build a canal, a railroad, an oil pipeline, two deep water ports and free trade zones at a cost of US$40 billion.  A British company is performing the environmental impact study which is expected to be completed sometime this year. Other companies are doing the economic and technical feasibility studies and will recommend which would be the best route among several that were proposed.

Last month the Supreme Court rejected 32 suits against the concession filed by environmentalists over possible damage to Lake Cocibolca (Nicaragua), by human rights organizations on the issue of indigenous rights, and by businesspeople concerned about the procedure for compensating landowners in the route of the canal.  The government has calculated that when the construction of the canal begins, Nicaragua’s economic growth will accelerate from 5% per year to over 10% and as much as 15% and that the country’s GDP will more than double.

Opposition National Assembly Deputy Enrique Saenz said, “You have to recognize that this time the declarations of Mr. Coronel Kautz have some common sense in contrast to the delirious figures quoted in previous speeches…. Obviously the project will not begin in 2015, or in 2016, or who knows when.”  He added that the canal project is a maneuver “to create illusions and manipulate the people’s hopes.”  Former Foreign Minister Francisco Aguirre noted that it was not a serious proposition to believe that construction could begin in 2014 and possibly it will not begin even in 2015.  Feasibility and environmental impact studies could not be done in that time, he said, and even less could the subsequent preliminary engineering studies be finished “as these can easily take three years.” (Radio La Primerisima, Jan. 4; Informe Pastran, Jan. 6; La Prensa, Jan. 5)

2. Media outlets review 2013 and look forward to 2014

Nicaragua’s media outlets last week were full of reviews of 2013 and predictions for the New Year. Adolfo Pastran wrote a 17 page review of the year in which he gave kudos to President Daniel Ortega as “the big winner in political, social, and economic reforms in 2013” and he appropriated an English term from the US version of football for his headline: “Touchdown Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista Front.” Pastran begins by saying, “You can question, accuse, contradict and be in opposition to the government of Sandinista Daniel Ortega, even at any cost, but the real and tangible facts in the economic and social fields cannot be hidden.” 

Nicaragua Network staff translated the review into English and it can be read at http://www.nicanet.org/?page=blog&id=24618.

Pastran wrote, “The political opposition claims a lack of institutionalization, of democracy and freedoms, violations of human rights, the closing of political space, and repression, but their rhetoric seems far from that expressed by citizens in various opinion polls carried out in the country by CID Gallup; Borge & Associates and M & R Consultants, where a majority approve of the government’s work.”

Citing these pollsters, Pastran continued, “Through 2013, the Ortega government's performance has met with high approval by Nicaraguans for its social, economic, political, institutional, and foreign policies, contrary to the discourse of the opposition. Economic management has been the most popular, according to M & R Consultants, with a 72.5% approval rating.  This trend has remained unchanged in the last year. A majority of 70.5% approve of the institutionality of the Ortega government, and 67.9% consider the Ortega government to be democratic, despite the words of the opposition, which accuses him of being authoritarian. 76.3% say that the government of Ortega unites the country; 74.8% say Ortega leads the country in the right direction; 66.5% approve of his management in general and 74.1% are optimistic.”

El Nuevo Diario revisited the major news stories of the year from the crash of the Nicaraguan Army helicopter in which ten high level officers died, to the fire in the Eastern Market and the massive fight over the use of plastic bus passes on the Managua public transportation system.  Other important stories included the fraud case against Alvaro Montealegre, Roberto Bendaña, and Hugo Paguaga in which they stand accused of defrauding a religious order of nuns of half a million dollars and the controversy surrounding the passage of a new law (Law 779) to stop violence against women which some churches said privileged women over men and damaged the family.  All of these stories paled beside the concession for the shipping canal and the amendments to the constitution, probably the principle stories of the year.

Looking forward, La Prensa quoted Monsignor Silvio Fonseca, head of the Pastoral Office of the Family of the Archdiocese of Managua as saying: “The year 2014 is a somber year in which the constitutional amendments imposed on us have increased discontent in the population and when you violate the rights and liberties of a people, and you don’t consult with them, what can come are cries of violence.  That can generate violence.  It is very delicate when the rights of citizens are violated.”  Then the daily went on to quote former vice-presidential and presidential candidate Edmundo Jarquin of the Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) as saying that, in terms of cults of personality, Nicaragua seems more each day like North Korea with the use of funds that the people need going instead to propaganda.

Radio La Primerisima presented a review of plans for 2014 by government spokesperson and first lady Rosario Murillo, who promised a concentration by all the relevant ministries on the rural sector “so that we will know what we are planting, what we are harvesting, the yields we are getting, where the crops are going, and what that represents for the country.”  She also said that special attention would be paid to education “for the smallest ones,” to technical education for secondary students, and to the search for a better model for rural schools.  (Informe Pastran, Dec. 31; El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 31; La Prensa, Jan. 5; Radio La Primerisima, Jan. 4)

3. Roberto Bendaña, indicted in fraud case, flees Nicaragua

Roberto Bendaña, indicted in Nicaragua along with two others for a US$5 million fraud, fled house arrest on Dec. 27 and is now on the most wanted list of INTERPOL (International Criminal Police Organization).  He is believed to be in the United States.  Among those that he, Alvaro Montealegre, and Hugo Paguaga are accused of defrauding are the Sisters of Saint Teresa (for US$500,000), 28 coffee farmers from Jinotega (for US$200,000) and numerous others.  On Dec. 30, Commissioner Fernando Borge, head of public relations for the National Police, said that Bendaña had escaped with the aid of a third person and investigations were ongoing.

Roberto Bendaña McEwan comes from a family of Matagalpa coffee growers.  He was educated in the United States and England and was named consul of Nicaragua in London by President Violeta Chamorro in 1992.  At that time, he declared himself an admirer of Ronald Reagan and Oliver North.  As a member of the Conservative Party, he served under President Enrique Bolaños (2002-2006), in the Agriculture Ministry and in the Ministry of Industry and Trade. He later joined the supporters of Eduardo Montealegre, who is now a leader of the PLI. Bendaña is an active Catholic and is supported by conservative Catholic groups such as Opus Dei.  For a number of years he was president of the organization Hagamos Democracia, one of the “democracy promotion” groups funded by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars as recently as 2012. Bendaña often had disagreements with PLI leaders and, in April 2013, he resigned as head of Hagamos Democracia and founded a political group called “Movimiento Unidad Sí, Nicaragua Primero” in the hope of running for president.  

According to former Nicaraguan Attorney General Alberto Novoa, the United States and Nicaragua do not have an extradition treaty and “as a general rule the North Americans do not turn over to another government a citizen of the United States.” On Jan. 6, the US Embassy in Managua released a statement saying that, in general, the Embassy did not confirm or deny the citizenship of anyone for reasons of privacy.  But, Maria Asuncion Moreno, a law professor at the University of Central America (UCA) in Managua, told Channel 12 that the US had the obligation to explain Bendaña’s legal situation including whether he is a US citizen and if the US intends to give him protection during the legal process he confronts in Nicaragua. She explained that there are treaties among nations, especially in the area of organized crime, providing a method for him to be tried and pay his debts to society there.  She added, “If he wanted to be a candidate for president, he couldn’t have a second citizenship, so we would have to check first.”  She stated that if he is not a US citizen he should be returned to Nicaragua.  (La Prensa, Jan. 1, 3; El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 31, Jan. 4; Informe Pastran, Dec. 30, Jan. 3, 6; http://www.ned.org/category/region/latin-america-and-caribbean/nicaragua)

4. Carter family vacations in Nicaragua

Former US President Jimmy Carter and 30 members of his family, including his wife Rosalyn, children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, greeted the New Year in Nicaragua this year.  Carter noted that while he had visited Nicaragua five times previously for election observation, this was the first time he had come on vacation.  The family arrived in San Juan del Sur on Jan. 28 and stayed at the Pelican Eyes Resort.  On Jan. 30, the family traveled to the island of Ometepe in Lake Cocibolca (Lake Nicaragua).  It was the first time a US president had visited the island.

The family visited the Flying Frog Canopy Tour near San Juan del Sur and everyone, including the 89 year old former president, rode the two kilometer zip line.  Eduardo Holmann, former mayor of San Juan del Sur, who accompanied the family on canopy tour, said that Carter’s visit reflects the view that “here there are the conditions, both of infrastructure and in matters of security, for high level tourism.”  Holmann added that Carter showed himself to be the perfect guest, very respectful of the guides and of his security team.  Carter told El Nuevo Diario that “the beaches of Nicaragua are truly beautiful” and said that be considered that the country had great potential for tourism.

On Radio Corporación and on some social media there was strong criticism of Carter for visiting Nicaragua and giving what members of the opposition saw as a show of support for the government of President Daniel Ortega.  (La Prensa, Jan. 3; El Nuevo Diario, Jan. 2; Informe Pastran, Jan. 2)

5. Government moves to reduce forest fires

With a national early warning system and community participation, the government seeks to reduce the number of dry season forest fires. According to a government report, the efforts have reduced forest fires from 1,357 in 2007 to only 126 between Dec. 2012 and June 2013, although the number of hectares burned was reduced only from 19,484 to 16,642 in the same period.  Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo stated that the principle cause of forest fires is the expansion of the agricultural frontier for the introduction of cattle grazing and cultivation of peanuts and sugarcane. The focus of the government fire prevention campaign is on the 77 environmentally protected areas comprising two million hectares, 20% of the national territory. The efforts use collaboration with local communities, churches, cooperatives, municipal governments, regional governments of the Caribbean Coast, indigenous territorial governments and private businesses.

The two largest nature reserves, Bosawas and Indio Maiz, are also the most assaulted by the advance of the agricultural frontier and forest fires. The early warning system involves coordination among the communities, Civil Defense, Nicaraguan army, the National System of Prevention, Attention, and Mitigation of Disasters (SINAPRED), the National Forestry Institute, and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. The National Human Development Plan for 2012-2016 calls for limiting forest fires to an average of 250 per year and an area with the loss of no more than 18,000 hectares. In the North Atlantic Autonomous Region, the early warning system includes four radio repeaters, 10 radio bases, and 75 walkie talkies. Also, 739 volunteer fire brigades with 10 volunteers each have been trained. (La Prensa, Jan. 3)

6. Illegal weapons destroyed

In a move that would have gun advocates in the US howling, the Nicaraguan government destroyed 5,500 illegal weapons last week. Paid for with a grant from the UN Development Project, 2,385 rifles, 1,564 revolvers, 817 pistols, 488 shotguns, 161 home-made weapons, 72 sub-machine guns, 11 rocket-propelled grenades, and two machine guns were incinerated. According to the chief of the Directorate of Arms, Explosives, and Munitions of the National Police, Maj. Luis Perez, the weapons were seized over the past six years from persons who were not authorized to carry them or from those who committed crimes. In the first year of President Ortega’s return to office, 2007, the government destroyed 12,998 illegal arms. According to the National Police, Nicaragua is among the safest countries in Central America with a yearly homicide rate of 11 per 100,000 inhabitants. (El Nuevo Diario, Dec. 31)

7. Cell phone registrations exceed population

The number of cell phones in use in Nicaragua rose by 321% over the past six years as opposed to landlines which fell by 31% according to TELCOR, the national telephone regulatory agency. In 2006 TELCOR reported 1,617,319 cell phone users. Cell phone registrations today number 6,808,930, greater than the population of 5,142,098! According to the Geneva-based International Telecommunications Union (ITU), in 2011, 20 of 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean had more cell phone users than people.  [One reason for this anomaly is that it is common in Latin America for it to be cheaper for people to have multiple cell phones for the different phone carriers than it is to call someone whose service is with another company.] Another thing Nicaraguan users have in common with their continental neighbors is a preference for prepaid phone plans, which, according to the ITU, increases access to telephone service for low income customers and decreases the risk of non-payment for the companies. (El Nuevo Diario, Jan. 6)

8. INTERPOL takes Eden Pastora off list

On Jan. 4, the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) removed Nicaraguan Eden Pastora from its list of wanted persons after a request from Nicaragua.  INTERPOL said it had “taken into account the general context of the case, giving particular attention to the case pending between Costa Rica and Nicaragua before the World Court.”  Pastora called on the government of Costa Rica, which had asked INTERPOL to put him on the so-called “red list” for alleged environmental damage, for an apology. However, President Laura Chinchilla’s spokesman Carlos Roverssi said that his country maintains its warrant for Pastora’s arrest. (Radio La Primerisima, Jan. 4; La Prensa, Jan. 5)