Mary O’Grady writes on The Ortega-Chávez Axis
Nicaragua’s president is aligning himself with Venezuela.
With Iran and Venezuela in political, economic and military cahoots, Tehran has gained a foothold in South America. Now Nicaragua is at risk of being added to the list of authoritarian governments aligned with Venezuela and by association, its Islamic ally.
Whether that happens will depend heavily on whether Sandinista President Daniel Ortega succeeds in circumventing Nicaragua’s rule of law and destroying its democratic institutions, as he is now trying to do. It would be a mistake to underestimate the magnitude of this threat because of Nicaragua’s relative economic unimportance. This place matters strategically, as the Soviets understood very well.
O’Grady asks,
With polls showing anti-Sandinista sentiment running at 60%, a lot depends on whether the opposition is able to unite despite the taint that Mr. Aleman brings to the equation. But Nicaraguans could also use some help from the international community. When Peru’s Alberto Fujimori tried to steamroll democratic institutions in 2000, democrats the world over rose up in indignation. Where’s the outrage now?
Where is the Obama administration on this?
