Welcome back. You belong here.
With Ortega all but officially back in power in Nicaragua, the country will go back 10-20 years economically and most of all in U.S. relations. Ortega is buddy buddy with Chavez and Castro, so all notions of a "new-softer-gentler" Ortega are non-sense. The man is corrupt, a communist and a U.S. hater. This is bad news for my country of origin, and my family who lives there.
What is good about this? The poor will be cared for, medical benefits will increase, education will increase, $$ on defense will increase. But so will religious restrictions, U.S. travel, free trade, etc.
Bush will probably wait and see. My guess is he's too busy with bigger fish to fry (Iraq, North Korea) to really care and rightly so. Nicaragua offers very little threat to anyone. But the connection between Venezuela, Cuba and now Nicaragua, offers a triangulation that few can ignore.
Expect sanctions, Nicaraguans on the U.S. side will have little chance of going home (or maybe little desire!), and expect a slow but real migration by businesses, hotels, tourism, resorts, airlines, etc. from the country. Just when things were looking up in Nicaragua, this comes.
But remember, almost 40% of the Nicaraguan people voted for Ortega. They wanted this. Why? Their alternatives were more rich-eat-poor U.S. educated U.S. puppets (such as Montealegre and Ruiz).
Now, we all wish Hertiz hadn't had a massive heart attack just weeks before the elections. He was a moderate Sandinista, hated by Ortega but with a leaning towards U.S. relations. I hope my family gets out of there soon.
Oh and today I am home with a bad cold, sniffles, sore throat, etc. arghhhhh....
Have a great day.
Into the future,
davidT
