Nicaragua Undermining US Interests In Central America

(Nicaragua Dispatch) U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), one of the few U.S. lawmakers paying any attention to Nicaragua, is again urging the Obama Administration to take action against anti-democratic moves by the Sandinista government.

In response to President Daniel Ortega’s latest attempt to reform Nicaragua’s constitution, Ros-Lehtinen issued a statement yesterday urging the Obama Administration to “denounce this attempt to further dismantle the democratic process to deny the people of Nicaragua the fundamental freedoms that we often take for granted.”

The congresswoman argues that Ortega’s attempt to remove presidential term limits from the constitution would “allow him to retain a stranglehold over the people of Nicaragua.”

“It is troubling that Ortega, with the help of his cronies in the Nicaraguan National Assembly, continues to trample on democratic freedoms of millions of his own people, undermine U.S. interests in the region, and collaborate with other rogue regimes like Cuba and Venezuela,” the Republican lawmaker said. “The Obama Administration stood idly by during the last illegitimate elections in Nicaragua and these power grabs are the consequences of our silence. I urge the Administration to denounce this attempt to further dismantle the democratic process to deny the people of Nicaragua the fundamental freedoms that we often take for granted.”