By Daniel Nardini
It is a replay of what happened in the 1980’s. Costa Rica, the most stable Central American country, is once again offering asylum to Nicaraguans fleeing Nicaragua. Nicaraguans fled Nicaragua in the 1980’s when the Sandinistas came to power, and ironically are again fleeing Nicaragua because the Sandinistas are back in power. This time the supreme Sandinista leader, Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo (who is vice-president), do not even bother with free elections and have used brute force to crush any and all opposition even if that opposition is peaceful and legal. It is very clear that like Venezuela, Nicaragua has become a socialist dictatorship and a growing number of people are sick and tired of it. So far all revolts have been successfully crushed. Like in Venezuela, the army, court system and dedicated followers are all on the Nicaraguan government’s side. And they are armed while whatever opposition there is remains unarmed.
Since there is no way to really fight from within Nicaragua, thousands of Nicaraguans have fled the country any way they can. But unfortunately most cannot obtain passports since the Nicaraguan government refuses to hand them out even though people apply for them. So for so many Nicaraguans fleeing any way they can is the only option. Yes, there were riots not too long ago by many Costa Ricans to Nicaraguans fleeing into Costa Rica. However, that has since subsided and many Costa Ricans are coming to accept Nicaraguans who most certainly would not want to be there. Most Nicaraguans want to go back and change the government if it were peacefully possible. This does not seem to be the case, and the sad thing is that there might be a new guerrilla war again as there was in the 1980’s. This may be much, much harder than it was almost three decades ago. This time the U.S. government is not involved in Central America, this time the Sandinistas are far better prepared for any insurgent war, and this time there is no unity among whatever Nicaraguan groups there may be to carry on an insurgent war. The only thing that is sure is that the Costa Rican government is offering what protection it can for those Nicaraguans who are fleeing.
Costa Rica Offers Asylum to Nicaraguans
By Daniel Nardini
Since there is no way to really fight from within Nicaragua, thousands of Nicaraguans have fled the country any way they can. But unfortunately most cannot obtain passports since the Nicaraguan government refuses to hand them out even though people apply for them. So for so many Nicaraguans fleeing any way they can is the only option. Yes, there were riots not too long ago by many Costa Ricans to Nicaraguans fleeing into Costa Rica. However, that has since subsided and many Costa Ricans are coming to accept Nicaraguans who most certainly would not want to be there. Most Nicaraguans want to go back and change the government if it were peacefully possible. This does not seem to be the case, and the sad thing is that there might be a new guerrilla war again as there was in the 1980’s. This may be much, much harder than it was almost three decades ago. This time the U.S. government is not involved in Central America, this time the Sandinistas are far better prepared for any insurgent war, and this time there is no unity among whatever Nicaraguan groups there may be to carry on an insurgent war. The only thing that is sure is that the Costa Rican government is offering what protection it can for those Nicaraguans who are fleeing.