Nicaragua Network

1. President Ortega meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
2. Colombian Constitutional Court rules on maritime boundary dispute with Nicaragua
3. Tremblers continue with a 4.7 quake near Momotombo; schools still closed
4. Waspam mayor warns of colonizer violence; calls on government to act
5. Record sugar harvest while workers’ kidneys continue to fail
6. Climate change heat wave and August climate change delegation
7. Crime briefs
 

1. President Ortega meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

President Daniel Ortega met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Apr. 29 in Managua and thanked him for Russian assistance for towns affected by the recent earthquakes as well as for the busses that have alleviated urban transportation shortages in Managua.  He also said that Russian assistance has helped Nicaragua advance in the fight against drug trafficking and organized crime.  Lavrov said that the visit came at an important symbolic moment on the 70^th anniversary of the opening of diplomatic relations between Russia and Nicaragua.

Ortega said that the member countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA) are united in calling for a peaceful solution to the conflict in Ukraine, stating that threats and sanctions only lead to further instability and greater destruction.  He said, “The positions of the European Union and the United States are of no help…. The road is not that of sanctions and pressures; the road is that of dialogue within the framework of respect for international law.”

Lavrov said that Russia “is grateful to our friends for their contribution to the establishment of cooperation between Russia and Latin America through the institutions of regional integration,” referring to the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).  He added that today the world is multipolar and “Russia hopes that Latin America will be one of the solid supporters of this new world order.”

In an interview with the Russian news agency Rossiya Segodnya, Nicaragua’s ambassador to the United Nations Maria Rubiales said that Nicaragua views “what has happened [in Ukraine] as part of the policies of the United States and its allies in NATO to create subversive movements with the objective of overthrowing democratically elected governments that do not follow the interests of the US and its allies.”  She added, “The situation in Ukraine is no different from the attempts at coups d'état and regime changes in the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, in Africa and Asia.”

Rubiales said that while the Nicaraguan Constitution does not permit the installation of foreign military bases in its territory, “what we are talking about here is the use of installations so that the Russian navy can use our ports for supply visits. Besides that, there are joint patrols in our territorial waters.  Our National Assembly has the responsibility to authorize these permits which have been extended to the Russian armed forces and those of other countries [including the United States] with which we have cooperation agreements and joint patrols.”

Lavrov’s trip to Latin America, visiting Cuba, Nicaragua, Peru and Chile, was the subject of international commentary.  In an analysis on the BBC of London, Famil Ismailov said, “The message for Washington is: ‘You come to my borders; I can also go to your borders.’” Ismailov added that Russia never received well NATO’s expansion to the east and “now Russia is doing the same to Washington, showing that it also has the capacity to get close to the borders of the United States.” (El Nuevo Diario, Apr. 29; Radio La Primerisima, Apr. 29; Informe Pastran, Apr. 29)

2. Colombian Constitutional Court rules on maritime boundary dispute with Nicaragua

On May 2, the Constitutional Court of Colombia ruled, in a five to four vote, that the new maritime boundaries between Nicaragua and Colombia laid down by the International Court of Justice (World Court) at The Hague in Nov. 2012 can only be applied under Colombian law after the signing of a treaty between the two countries. While the judges said that the World Court is a “legal instance that is accepted by the Colombian State for the solution of international controversies,” its rulings “must be incorporated into the national legal system through a treaty that is duly approved and ratified.”

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos praised the ruling as historic, saying, “In accord with the constitution, the limits of Colombia can only be modified or established by means of a treaty signed by the government, approved by the Congress and then reviewed by the Constitutional Court.” He later said that until a treaty is signed and ratified, the boundary between Colombia and Nicaragua continues to be that established by the Esguerra-Barcenas Treaty of 1928, which was set aside by the World Court.

However, Nicaraguan legal expert Mauricio Herdocia said that, “The UN Covenant on International Law … says that a nation cannot base itself on an internal norm in order to fail to comply with international law; therefore the decisions adopted domestically have no effect in the international field on the application of a World Court ruling.” Nevertheless, he added that Nicaragua has left open the possibility of negotiation of an agreement on security, the environment, and fishing while fully respecting the boundary lines established in the [World Court] ruling.”  The Court decision, while assigning the islands of the San Andres Archipelago to Colombia, gave Nicaragua most of the territorial waters which surround the islands, part of Nicaragua’s vast continental shelf which extends well into the Caribbean.  (El Nuevo Diario, May 2; Radio La Primerisima, May 3; La Prensa, May 4)

3. Tremblers continue with a 4.7 quake near Momotombo

Earthquakes continued in Nicaragua with a trembler of 4.7 on the Richter scale felt at 7:25 am on May 1.  The epicenter of the quake was near the Momotombo Volcano at a depth of 3.1 kilometers.  During the day the Nicaraguan Institute for Territorial Studies (INETER) reported 12 more tremblers. In fact, between the 6.2 quake of Apr. 10 and May 4, INETER had registered 661 seismic events.  Dr. Guillermo Gonzalez, head of the National System for Attention to Disasters (SINEPRED), said that the work of repairing and rebuilding houses, among them 500 in the town of Nagarote, continues. He said that from the first quakes, the authorities began moving in construction materials and food packets to the affected areas. He said that the quakes caused two deaths and damages to or destruction of 2,800 buildings of various kinds.

Meanwhile, schools remained closed in six municipalities in the Departments of Managua and Leon (Managua, Leon, Ciudad Sandino, Nagarote, Mateare and La Paz Centro).  Government spokesperson Rosario Murillo said that the government was preparing to reopen the schools as soon as the experts said that it would be safe.  “In these cases it is better to sin by exercising too much caution than by not enough caution, to overprotect, if you will,” she said.  She added that the repairs of 70 damaged schools are complete and that repairs on the remaining 31 are expected to be finished in the next week. “What happened,” she explained, “is that we had to rebuild 34 classrooms and 18 boundary walls and that takes more time.”

The city of Managua has demolished 47 buildings in recent days saying that they were either in danger of collapsing and causing injury or, as in the case of the old Lottery building, were in such a state of deterioration that the cost of repair would be unaffordable. Most had been severely damaged by the earthquake of 1972. Also in the process of being torn down was the acoustic shell, site of numerous Sandinista political rallies in recent years.  The mayor’s office said that the shell, built in 2004, had been damaged by recent rainy seasons and the earthquakes of the last month.  (El Nuevo Diario, May 2; La Prensa, May 4; Informe Pastran, May 5; Radio La Primerisima, May 5)

4. Waspam mayor warns of colonizer violence; calls on government to act

Alex Fernandez, mayor of Waspam in the North Caribbean Autonomous Region said that the increasing invasion of indigenous land by colonizers is trying the patience of indigenous communities that hold title to the land and, if the government does not do something soon to rid the area of colonists, the situation threatens to get out of control with a strong possibility of violence. The mayor said that in many cases indigenous communities are virtually encircled by heavily armed colonists and that it is not safe for even him to travel to some communities. He blamed an organization called the Association for the Development of the Ex-Combatants of the North Atlantic Autonomous Region for “heavy trafficking in land” and accuses them of being “heavily armed.” He appealed to the central government to act quickly. (El Nuevo Diario, May 1)

5. Record sugar harvest while workers’ kidneys continue to fail

With the 2013-14 cane harvest drawing to a close May 25, the sugar industry is projecting a record year with the production of 16.7 million hundredweights of sugar, up from 15.3 million last year. The sugar industry has been investing heavily in increasing its capacity to produce both sugar and electricity, estimating it will invest US$400 million between 2012 and 2017. Sugar processing plants burn biomass to produce electricity during the six month harvest season, contributing to Nicaragua’s goal of eliminating fossil fuel electricity production. The industry hopes to more than double its current 74 megawatts of electricity to 150 megawatts by 2017.  This season the industry harvested 181,023 acres of cane compared to 167,650 acres last year.

Meanwhile a poorly understood kidney disease continues to kill sugar workers throughout Central America, including Nicaragua. First reported about 20 years ago, renal failure has killed 20,000 workers in Central America according to a study by researchers at Boston University. Epidemiological studies have been unable to pinpoint the cause with the two dominant theories being agricultural chemicals used on the fields or chronic dehydration caused by hard work in the tropical sun. However, both conditions exist in other parts of the world without the epidemic of Chronic Renal Failure, as the disease is called, appearing to the degree that it does in Central America. More medical studies are in the works according to a report aired on NPR in the US.  Meanwhile, the profits continue to role in for the sugar growers. (El Nuevo Diario, May 3; Informe Pastran, Apr. 30; NPR, Apr. 30)

6. Climate change heat wave and August climate change delegation

The current heat wave affecting millions of Nicaraguans is an irreversible phenomenon, according to Dr. Marcio Arteaga Berrios, a consequence of climate change at the global level. Medical experts last week issued a number of recommendations to prevent hyperthermia, especially for the elderly and young children. Nicaragua has seen temperatures exceeding 38° Celsius (100° Fahrenheit) in recent days in the departments of Chinandega, Leon, and Managua.  High humidity makes it feel like 40°C (104°F).

Victor Campos of the Humboldt Center said Nicaragua has seen a .7°C increase in average temperature in recent years due to climate change, affecting the lives of people and activities such as agriculture. The consequences are exacerbated by the lack of access to water in parts of the country. Campos blamed part of the change on deforestation. The Humboldt Center last week hosted a regional meeting of SUSWATCH, a Latin American environmental sustainability network. The seminar released a statement saying that, “The campaign for climate justice demands that the rich countries recognize their ecological debt to Mesoamerica.”

Nicaragua Network/Alliance for Global Justice will lead a delegation to Nicaragua Aug. 3-12, 2014, to investigate the effects of climate change and the projects to adjust and mediate those changes that are being put in place by the Sandinista government. Nicaragua achieved production of 52% of its electricity last year from renewable sources and expects to achieve over 90% by 2017. The feasibility and environmental impact studies for a proposed trans-oceanic canal may be published shortly before the delegation, making the timing of this delegation perfect for looking at the positive and negative effects of a canal on Nicaragua’s environment. For more information contact Chuck Kaufman at Chuck@AFGJ.org. (El Nuevo Diario, Apr. 30)

7. Crime briefs

On Apr. 30, the Nicaraguan government signed a US$16.3 million loan with the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE) for “increasing the rural coverage of the National Police in order to strengthen citizen security.” Head of the National Police Aminta Granera said that, while the project will eventually have an impact in 98 municipalities, the first new police station to be built would be that of Bluefields in the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS).  The previous day at the closing ceremony of a course on illegal drug trafficking held by the Russian Drug Control Services, Granera addressed several issues, among them the increase in the number of murders of women.  “It has shot up and this has worried the National Police and the society as a whole. We have nine more murders of women than at this time last year,” she said. Granera said that the Nicaraguan Police had opened an investigation to find out if any Nicaragua children had been molested by William Vahey, the teacher at the American-Nicaraguan School in Managua who fled to Minnesota and committed suicide after child pornography was discovered on his computer. Granera emphasized that “until today, until today, there have been no victims.” She criticized the school for informing only the FBI and not the Nicaraguan authorities. (La Prensa, Apr. 30; Radio La Primerisima, Apr. 29, 30; El Nuevo Diario, Apr. 29; Informe Pastran, May 1)

Speaking at the ceremonies marking the second anniversary of the death of Tomas Borge, Minister of Government Ana Isabel Morales said that the government is working to improve physical conditions in the country’s jails and prisons but that complaints of mistreatment are unfounded.  “What I can tell you,” she said, “is that the Penitentiary System is respectful of the laws and of proper treatment of those who have been deprived of their freedom.  If we were not respectful of their human rights, we would not have the lowest recidivism rate in the Americas, at 11%.” Morales said that efforts are being made to reduce overcrowding and recreation and education areas are being built. She noted that the prison in Granada has both a Catholic and a Protestant chapel. “In what other country would you find that?” she asked.  There are more than 10,500 prisoners in Nicaragua’s jails and prisons. (El Nuevo Diario, May 1)

The trial of businessman Alvaro Montealegre and economist Hugo Paguaga was postponed until June 5, Criminal Court Judge Octavio Rothschuh announced after a request by defense lawyers.  The nuns of the Colegio Teresiano, members of a coffee growers cooperative, and 17 other victims say they were defrauded by the pair of millions of dollars in total.  The lawyers for the defense said that the defendants were arranging payment to fraud victims but Alberto Marin, who says he is owed US$800,000, stated that he had not heard from the pair.  (El Nuevo Diario, Apr. 29)

After eight shocking cases in April where dogs had been killed with special, expensive arrows, the Police announced that it would regulate cross bows, harpoons and similar weapons in the same manner that it regulates firearms. Dog owners and animal protection groups organized two marches demanding action by the authorities. The killings of the dogs were already illegal under the 2011 law for the protection of domestic animals.  Now, anyone in violation will lose his cross bow and pay a fine equal to 3,000 times his daily wage. The Police said that they have evidence of possible suspects and are investigating. Rumors were flying that the suspect is a fourteen year old from a well-to-do family whose identity is being protected. (Radio La Primerisima, May 2; Informe Pastran, May 2)