By Daniel Nardini
There are many news reports about what is happening in Venezuela and of the Venezuelan refugees. This is not surprising because an estimated 3.4 million Venezuelans have fled their country, and more are fleeing every day. They are streaming through all of South America, and just about every South American country is feeling the presence of Venezuelans on their soil. This is without question the single largest refugee crisis in the Americas, and the second largest refugee crisis in the world beyond the one in Syria. But there is another refugee crisis brewing in the Americas that does not receive anywhere near the same publicity. This is the Nicaraguan refugee crisis. Since the Nicaraguan government used brute force and terror to crush any and all opposition to its rule last year, an estimated 62,000 Nicaraguans have fled their country. In a country with a little over 6 million people, 62,000 is a large number.
Of this number, 55,000 have sought refuge in neighboring Costa Rica. At first, this number only consisted of single adults fleeing the country any way they could. But with the Nicaraguan government now terrorizing and murdering whole families, whole families with children are fleeing Nicaragua. Yes, poverty and government mismanagement have also been a factor in why people are fleeing Nicaragua, but for the most part it is simply government terror that has driven most Nicaraguans out of their country. In so many ways, the socialist Nicaraguan government of Daniel Ortega is every bit as bad as the socialist government in Venezuela under Nicolas Maduro. However, the publicity is not there, and this is why the Nicaraguan government feels more secure in its brutal crackdown against its own people. Basically nothing is said about Nicaragua, and in fact the Nicaraguan government also supports the brutal dictatorship of Maduro in Venezuela. While U.S. President Donald Trump has talked about the situation in Venezuela and how intolerable it is, he has made no mention of Nicaragua. But Nicaragua’s agony is no less real, and it is suffering from the same stupid socialist policies that have afflicted Venezuela. So why has this been forgotten?
The Forgotten Refugees
By Daniel Nardini
Of this number, 55,000 have sought refuge in neighboring Costa Rica. At first, this number only consisted of single adults fleeing the country any way they could. But with the Nicaraguan government now terrorizing and murdering whole families, whole families with children are fleeing Nicaragua. Yes, poverty and government mismanagement have also been a factor in why people are fleeing Nicaragua, but for the most part it is simply government terror that has driven most Nicaraguans out of their country. In so many ways, the socialist Nicaraguan government of Daniel Ortega is every bit as bad as the socialist government in Venezuela under Nicolas Maduro. However, the publicity is not there, and this is why the Nicaraguan government feels more secure in its brutal crackdown against its own people. Basically nothing is said about Nicaragua, and in fact the Nicaraguan government also supports the brutal dictatorship of Maduro in Venezuela. While U.S. President Donald Trump has talked about the situation in Venezuela and how intolerable it is, he has made no mention of Nicaragua. But Nicaragua’s agony is no less real, and it is suffering from the same stupid socialist policies that have afflicted Venezuela. So why has this been forgotten?