Ortega defiant amidst U.S. criticism of Nicaragua violence

Record ID: 1355212

  • Title: Ortega defiant amidst U.S. criticism of Nicaragua violence
  • Date: 6th September 2018
  • Summary: CHILD AT RALLY GIVING PEACE SIGN GENERAL VIEW OF ORTEGA ON STAGE AT RALLY (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENT DANIEL ORTEGA, SAYING: "It was the Yankees who came and tried to take control of Nicaragua. That is the reality of our history, the Yankees had come. Those who sold our homeland yesterday are the same sellers of today." ORTEGA ADDRESSING RALLY (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENT DANIEL ORTEGA, SAYING: "We say to the American government, we say to the American congress members, if they want to contribute to peace in Nicaragua then respect Nicaragua as a sovereign nation, as a nation that is as worthy as any other nation in the world, that deserves respect and that is due respect."
  • Embargoed: 20th September 2018 04:01
  • Keywords: unrest violence President Daniel Ortega Managua march Nicaragua United States protest United Nations
  • Location: MANAGUA, ORTEGA
  • City: MANAGUA, ORTEGA
  • Country: Nicaragua
  • Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0058WHNRK3
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Thousands of supporters of President Daniel Ortega marched on the Nicaraguan capital of Managua on Wednesday (September 05), hours after the United States declared Nicaragua's civil unrest a threat to the region's security and compared the nation to Venezuela.
    More than 300 people have been killed and 2,000 injured in crackdowns by Nicaraguan police and armed groups in protests that began in April over an abortive plan by leftist President Daniel Ortega's government to reduce welfare benefits.
    The protests soon escalated into broader opposition against Ortega, who has been in office since 2007.
    But Ortega still commands much support in Nicaragua, including from many public servants marching in support of their leader.
    At a United Nation's Security Council meeting on Wednesday, Nicaragua's government rejected U.S. comments on the country. Later in the day Ortega reminded a cheering crowd of supporters that the United States had an "expansionist" history in the Central American country.
    Last week, the U.N. human rights delegation released a report documenting human rights violations in recent months, including the disproportionate use of force and extrajudicial killings by the Nicaraguan police, disappearances, arbitrary detentions and instances of torture and sexual violence.
    Shortly afterwards, Nicaragua's government ordered the expulsion of the delegation.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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