Nicaraguan president missing
Source: Associated Press
By Associated Press
April 15, 2020
MEXICO CITY: Over the past month, world leaders have been to the forefront, rallying their nations to battle the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19). But theres been one notable exception President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, who has not been seen in public for over 40 days.
The last time the 74-year-old leader was seen in person was during a televised military event on February 21. He was seen virtually on March 12, when he participated in an online conference call with heads of state from Central Americas System of Integration to discuss the pandemic. His office didnt give any statement if hes sick or just busy performing any chores.
Managua: A homeless man wears a face mask against the spread of the new coronavirus, COVID-19, as he walks past a mural depicting Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, in Managua on April 9, 2020. More than 1.46 million cases have been officially recorded and at least 86,289 people have died in 192 countries since the virus emerged in China in December, according to an AFP tally at 1900 GMT Wednesday based on official sources. AFP PHOTO
Meanwhile, Nicaragua has come under fire for its casual approach to the crisis. The border, public schools and universities remain open and the strict preventative measures seen in neighboring countries are not in place.
Read more: https://www.manilatimes.net/2020/04/15/news/world/nicaraguan-president-missing/714048/
Dopers_Greed
(2,640 posts)tanyev
(42,541 posts)Please??
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)https://www.democraticunderground.com/100213274615#op
Sun Apr 12, 2020, 07:24 PM
As much of Latin America shuts down in the face of the coronavirus, Nicaragua is striking out as a radical outlier urging citizens to go to the beach, enjoy holiday cruises and turn out for Easter-season passion plays.
Rather than discouraging crowds, the Sandinista government is trying to manufacture them. Authorities havent closed borders, businesses or stadiums. In a photo, a bunch of kids in swimsuits are sitting around a table at the beach. They're drinking Cokes, waving, grinning. We have a unique country .?.?. and its best to enjoy it with your family! wrote Juan Carlos Ortega, the son of Nicaraguas president, in a tweet with the image of his children posted on April 4.
But what perhaps most sets the Central American nation apart is its president. Daniel Ortega doesnt seem to be leading the charge against the coronavirus. In fact, he hasnt appeared in public for a month. The government says hes still in control. But Nicaraguans are nervously wondering if the former Marxist guerrilla is ill, dead or simply avoiding human contact.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has called on Nicaragua to recognize the extreme gravity of the situation, and immediately adopt steps to address and contain the pandemic. In Ortegas absence, Vice President Rosario Murillo also his wife has been giving daily phone interviews to official media. Nicaragua has reported only nine cases of covid-19 and one fatality. Josefina Bonilla, a doctor and public health expert in Managua, the capital, said Nicaraguas low number of cases reflected a lack of testing. Costa Rica, Nicaraguas less populous neighbor, has confirmed more than 500 cases of covid-19.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/coronavirus-nicaragua-daniel-ortega-missing/2020/04/11/3ad1fafc-79c3-11ea-a311-adb1344719a9_story.html
Judi Lynn
(160,515 posts)They've wanted him dead in Washington for decades.
Just looked at his Wiki. for the first time, saw information I hadn't taken the time to see before, concerning his youth:
Early life
Ortega was born in La Libertad, department of Chontales, Nicaragua. His parents, Daniel Ortega Cerda and Lidia Saavedra, were opposed to the regime of Anastasio Somoza Debayle. His mother was imprisoned by Somoza's National Guard for being in possession of "love letters" which the police stated were coded political missives. Ortega and his two brothers, Humberto Ortega, former general, military leader, and published writer, and Camilo Ortega, grew to become revolutionaries. He had a sister named Germania who is deceased.[10][11]
The search for stable employment took the family from La Libertad to the provincial capital of Juigalpa, and then on to a working-class neighborhood in Managua.[12] Daniel Ortega Cedra detested U.S. military intervention in Nicaragua and Washington's support for the Somoza dictatorship, and he imparted the anti-American sentiment to his sons.[12]
Ortega was arrested for political activities at the age of 15,[13] and quickly joined the then-underground Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN).[14] In 1964, Ortega travelled to Guatemala, where the police arrested him and turned him over to the Nicaraguan National Guard.[15] After his release from detainment, Ortega arranged the assassination of his torturer, Guardsman Gonzalo Lacayo, in August 1967.[15] He was imprisoned in 1967 for taking part in robbing a branch of the Bank of America while brandishing a machine gun, telling collaborators that they should be killed if they did not partake in the robbery.[11][16] Ortega was released in late 1974 along with other Sandinista prisoners in exchange for Somocista hostages. While he was imprisoned at the El Modelo jail, just outside Managua, he wrote poems, one of which he titled "I Never Saw Managua When Miniskirts Were in Fashion".[16] During his imprisonment, Ortega was severely tortured.[17] While at El Modelo, his mother helped stage protests and hunger strikes for political prisoners, which improved the treatment of incarcerated Sandinistas.[18] After his release, Ortega was exiled to Cuba, where he received several months of guerrilla training. He later returned to Nicaragua secretly.[19]
More:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Ortega
He has been a leftist for a long time. His parents fought against the evil US-supported Somozas:
Wikipedia:
History
Anastasio Somoza García assumed the presidency after luring rebel leader Augusto César Sandino to peace talks, and murdering him soon afterwards. Anastacio amended the Nicaraguan Constitution, concentrating power in his hands and installed his relatives and cronies in top government positions.[1] Although the Somoza family only held the presidency for 30 of those 43 years, they were the power behind the other presidents of the time through their control of the National Guard. The differences in the Somoza's ruling style only reflected their adaptation to the U.S.-Latin American policy.[2] Their regime was overthrown by the Sandinista National Liberation Front during the Nicaraguan Revolution.
For more than four decades in power, the Somoza family accumulated wealth through corporate bribes, industrial monopolies, land grabbing, and foreign aid siphoning. By the 1970s, the family owned 23 percent of land in Nicaragua while the family wealth reached $533 million, which already amounted to half of Nicaragua's debt and 33 percent of the country's 1979 GDP.[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somoza_family
Son of the first Somoza, also a dictator:
Early years
Anastasio Somoza DeBayle, nicknamed "Tachito" (Spanish: Little Tacho) by his father, was the third child of Anastasio Somoza García and Salvadora DeBayle. At the age of seven, he was enrolled at the Instituto Pedagógico La Salle, run by the Christian Brothers. One of his classmates was Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal,[2] who would grow up to become one of the most prominent opponents of the Somoza dynasty. From the age of ten, Tachito was educated in the United States. He and older brother Luis Somoza Debayle, both attended St. Leo College Prep (Florida) and La Salle Military Academy (Long Island). He passed the examination for West Point, entered the United States Military Academy on July 3, 1943, and graduated on June 6, 1946.[3]
Two years after his return from West Point, Somoza fathered a daughter, Patricia, who was later sent to a series of schools abroad.[4] Also after his return, he was appointed chief of staff of the National Guard, (Nicaragua's national army), by his father, who had previously given many important posts to family members and close personal friends. As commander of the Guard, Somoza was head of the nation's armed forces, effectively the second-most powerful man in Nicaragua.
. . .
Presidency
On 1 May 1967, shortly before the death of his brother, Anastasio Somoza was sworn into office following his election on 5 February. While Luis had ruled more gently than his father had, Anastasio would not tolerate opposition of any sort, and his regime soon resembled his father's in all significant respects.
With regard to educating the workforce, Somoza replied, I dont want an educated population; I want oxen.[6]
His term in office was due to end in May 1972, due to a law which disallowed immediate re-election. However, prior to that, Somoza worked out an agreement allowing him to stand for re-election in 1974; he would be replaced as president by a three-man junta consisting of two Liberals and one Conservative while he retained control of the National Guard. Somoza and his triumvirate drew up a new constitution that was ratified by the triumvirate and the cabinet on April 3, 1971. He then stepped down as president on May 1, 1972. However, as head of the National Guard, he remained the de facto ruler of the country.
Anastasio Somoza and his son were both part owners of Plasmaferesis. The company collected blood plasma from up to 1,000 of Nicaragua's poorest every day for sale in the United States and Europe. According to El Diario Nuevo and La Prensa, Every morning the homeless, drunks, and poor people went to sell half a liter of blood for 35 (Nicaraguan) cordobas.[7]
More:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anastasio_Somoza_Debayle
~ ~ ~
Nicaraguan Revolution
Background
Main article: Somoza family
Following the United States occupation of Nicaragua in 1912 during the Banana Wars, the Somoza family political dynasty came to power, and would rule Nicaragua from 1937 until their ouster in 1979 during the Nicaraguan Revolution. The Somoza dynasty consisted of Anastasio Somoza García, his eldest son Luis Somoza Debayle, and finally Anastasio Somoza Debayle. The era of Somoza family rule was characterized by rising inequality and political corruption, strong US support for the government and its military,[16] as well as a reliance on US-based multinational corporations.[17]
. . .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicaraguan_Revolution
Igel
(35,296 posts)and for the revolutionary who overthrew the tsar to be a worse monster.
I remember my house RA threw a party when Somoza bit it. Eugenio was Nicaraguan, had a smattering of citizenships and used whichever passport was safest (his girlfriend had even more citizenships). He loved Ortega. What problems were there at the time he made excuses for or simply ignored.
I'd hope that with age he stopped making excuses.
dware
(12,346 posts)He's either ill, dead or self isolating, either way, I highly doubt he's been assassinated.
Archae
(46,314 posts)During the Sandanista rule, he gladly accepted Soviet and Cuban aid.
Now, he's a right-wing "El Presidente."
CaptainTruth
(6,582 posts)They were noting his 30 day absence 10 days ago.
Glad to see the AP picked up on it after 40 days.
Now maybe they'll pick up on all the oil tankers sailing out of South America in violation of an embargo, meeting Cuban-flagged tankers in the ocean, doing a ship-to-ship transfer of oil, & then the Cuban tankers sailing into Cuban ports.
yaesu
(8,020 posts)Judi Lynn
(160,515 posts)A link would really be helpful.
Those South American countries need Trump to punish them, is that what you're thinking?
greenjar_01
(6,477 posts)Then watching all the conservative military dipshits line up with their two cents...