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<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"/> <title>Nicaragua - RationalWiki</title> <script>document.documentElement.className="client-js";RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":!1,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"Z9w0o7ceaeWO2Tait31qYAAAABY","wgCSPNonce":!1,"wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":!1,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Nicaragua","wgTitle":"Nicaragua","wgCurRevisionId":2627872,"wgRevisionId":2627872,"wgArticleId":971,"wgIsArticle":!0,"wgIsRedirect":!1,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Articles with unsourced statements","Authoritarian regimes","North American countries","Socialist countries"],"wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Nicaragua","wgRelevantArticleId":971,"wgIsProbablyEditable":!0,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":!0,"wgRestrictionEdit":[], "wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgMediaViewerOnClick":!0,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":!0};RLSTATE={"site.styles":"ready","noscript":"ready","user.styles":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles.legacy":"ready","mediawiki.toc.styles":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","site","mediawiki.page.startup","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.legacy.js","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","mmv.head","mmv.bootstrap.autostart"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.implement("user.options@1hzgi",function($,jQuery,require,module){/*@nomin*/mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); });});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cmediawiki.toc.styles%7Cskins.vector.styles.legacy&only=styles&skin=vector"/> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector"/> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.35.6"/> <meta name="description" content="Nicaragua is a republic in Central America. It is the largest nation on the isthmus but also the least densely populated, thus being similar in population size to its geographically-smaller neighbors. The country is bordered to the north by Honduras and to the south by Costa Rica. Its western coast is on the Pacific Ocean while the east of the country borders the Caribbean Sea. Nicaragua is one of the very few countries left in the world where abortion is illegal with no exceptions. The country has been notable in recent years for its political instability and for being one of the few countries to take on the United States in the International Court of Justice and win (not that the United States feels any obligation to abide by the ICJ's decision)."/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Nicaragua&action=edit"/> <link rel="edit" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Nicaragua&action=edit"/> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico"/> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/opensearch_desc.php" title="RationalWiki (en)"/> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"/> <link rel="license" href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyrights"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="RationalWiki Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="RationalWiki"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Nicaragua"/> <meta property="og:description" content="Nicaragua is a republic in Central America. It is the largest nation on the isthmus but also the least densely populated, thus being similar in population size to its geographically-smaller neighbors. The country is bordered to the north by Honduras and to the south by Costa Rica. Its western coast is on the Pacific Ocean while the east of the country borders the Caribbean Sea. Nicaragua is one of the very few countries left in the world where abortion is illegal with no exceptions. The country has been notable in recent years for its political instability and for being one of the few countries to take on the United States in the International Court of Justice and win (not that the United States feels any obligation to abide by the ICJ's decision)."/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Nicaragua"/>  </head> <body class="mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Nicaragua rootpage-Nicaragua skin-vector action-view minerva--history-page-action-enabled skin-vector-legacy"> <div id="mw-page-base" class="noprint"></div> <div id="mw-head-base" class="noprint"></div> <div id="content" class="mw-body" role="main"> <a id="top"></a> <div id="siteNotice" class="mw-body-content"><div id="localNotice" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div id="2025_RationalWiki_.27Oregon_Plan.27_Fundraiser"> <table role="presentation" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; width: 100%;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="width: 60%; text-align: left;"><big><center><b><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">2025 RationalWiki 'Oregon Plan' Fundraiser</a></b></center></big> <p><b>There is no RationalWiki without you.</b> We are a small non-profit with no staff—we are hundreds of volunteers who document pseudoscience and crankery around the world every day. 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Please research the article's assertions. Whatever is credible should be sourced, and what is not should be removed. </p> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="navbox" style="float: right; clear:right; border: 2px solid silver; margin: 0 0 .5em .5em; width: 200px;"> <div style="background-color: #e7ece6; font-size: 15px; text-align: center; padding: .3em;"><b>Nicaragua</b> <b></b></div> <center><a href="/wiki/File:Flag_of_Nicaragua.svg" class="image"><img alt="Flag of Nicaragua.svg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Flag_of_Nicaragua.svg/195px-Flag_of_Nicaragua.svg.png" decoding="async" width="195" height="117" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Flag_of_Nicaragua.svg/293px-Flag_of_Nicaragua.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/19/Flag_of_Nicaragua.svg/390px-Flag_of_Nicaragua.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="600" /></a></center> <table style="width: 200px;"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color: #e8e7f2;"><b>Demographics</b> </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by population" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by population">Population</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>5,822,000 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by GDP (nominal)" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by GDP (nominal)">GDP (million)</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>6,375 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita">GDP p/cap.</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>1,096 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by life expectancy" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by life expectancy">Life expectancy</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>72.9 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by Human Development Index" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by Human Development Index">Development Index</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>0.565 </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="width: 200px;"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color: #e8e7f2;"><b>Government</b> </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index" class="extiw" title="wp:Democracy Index" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Democracy Index">Democracy Index</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>5.73 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index" class="extiw" title="wp:Corruption Perceptions Index" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Corruption Perceptions Index">Corruption Index</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>2.5 </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="width: 200px;"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color: #e8e7f2;"><b>More</b> </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Index" class="extiw" title="wp:Education Index" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Education Index">Education Index</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>0.76 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Importance_of_religion_by_country" class="extiw" title="wp:Importance of religion by country" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Importance of religion by country">Religiosity</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>84 </td></tr></tbody></table> </div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>In Nicaragua, everybody talks poetry...We have two sports, two national sports. One is baseball, the other one is poetry.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daisy_Zamora" class="extiw" title="wp:Daisy Zamora" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Daisy Zamora">Daisy Zamora</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup><sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1">[1]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Nicaragua</b> is a republic in <a href="/wiki/Central_America" class="mw-redirect" title="Central America">Central America</a>. It is the largest nation on the isthmus but also the least densely populated, thus being similar in population size to its geographically-smaller neighbors. The country is bordered to the north by Honduras and to the south by Costa Rica. Its western coast is on the Pacific Ocean while the east of the country borders the Caribbean Sea. Nicaragua is one of the very few countries left in the world where <a href="/wiki/Abortion" title="Abortion">abortion</a> is illegal with no exceptions. The country has been notable in recent years for its political instability and for being one of the few countries to take on the <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> in the International Court of Justice and win (not that the United States feels any obligation to abide by the ICJ's decision). </p><p>An important step you can take to establish your <a href="/wiki/Politically_correct" class="mw-redirect" title="Politically correct">politically correct</a> bona fides is to always pronounce it "Nee-ka-RA-wah" (with the R, of course, being a tongue-tap on the hard palette, not the "pulled" R as in English). </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#History"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">History</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-2"><a href="#Civil_War"><span class="tocnumber">1.1</span> <span class="toctext">Civil War</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="#After_the_civil_war"><span class="tocnumber">1.2</span> <span class="toctext">After the civil war</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="#Nicaragua_v._United_States"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext"><i>Nicaragua v. United States</i></span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="History">History</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Nicaragua&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Civil_War">Civil War</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Nicaragua&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Civil War">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Nicaragua first experienced foreign meddling from the United States in 1909 when the U.S. military overthrew the president and assumed control of the country. The US occupied Nicaragua with a National Guard force headed by Anastasio Somoza Garcia (a scion of a wealthy coffee planter family). In 1933, the United States withdrew its National Guard and Nicaragua became a dictatorship under Somoza. After Somoza's death, his family maintained control over Nicaragua with a dynastic dictatorship. </p><p>By the 1970s, support for the Somoza family's dictatorship was dwindling. The Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN, from its Spanish name <i>Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional</i>), a socialist political party which had its origins in opposing the United States' occupation of Nicaragua in the 1930s, grew in support and influence throughout the decade until a popular uprising brought it to power in 1979, followed by an electoral victory in a democratic election with overwhelming popular support.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[note 1]</a></sup> </p><p>Shortly after the FSLN came to power, a group of right-wing paramilitaries known as the Contras began attacking the new Nicaraguan government. This instigated a disastrous civil war that killed tens of thousands of civilians, destroyed virtually all of the country's already fragile infrastructure, and left 20% of the population homeless.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[2]</a></sup> </p><p>The United States government played a major role in supporting the Contras against the Nicaraguan government. Controversially, it also armed the Contra guerrillas using money earned from weapons sold to <a href="/wiki/Iran" title="Iran">Iran</a>, which, as a supporter of the terrorist group <a href="/wiki/Hezbollah" title="Hezbollah">Hezbollah</a>, was strongly opposed in public by the Reagan government.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4">[3]</a></sup> This is known as the <a href="/wiki/Iran-Contra" title="Iran-Contra">Iran-Contra</a> scandal. </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="After_the_civil_war">After the civil war</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Nicaragua&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: After the civil war">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Popular support for the Sandinista government declined dramatically as a result of the government's program of mandatory military service to prepare for what it viewed as an imminent U.S. invasion. At the nadir of that support, the Sandinistas lost power to the National Opposition Union (español: <i>Unión Nacional Opositora</i>, or UNO) in the democratic election of 1990. They returned to power after having won the 2006 elections. Having become staunchly corrupt<sup>[<a href="/wiki/Help:References" title="Help:References"><i>citation needed</i></a>]</sup> and conservative, the party threw its support behind the law against <a href="/wiki/Abortion" title="Abortion">abortion</a> in all circumstances. Pro-choice activists and medics who aided a nine-year-old Nicaraguan girl who was impregnated by her stepfather in having an abortion <i>when it was still legal</i> are currently being persecuted by the government.<sup>[<a href="/wiki/Help:References" title="Help:References"><i>citation needed</i></a>]</sup> President <a href="/w/index.php?title=Daniel_Ortega&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Daniel Ortega (page does not exist)">Daniel Ortega</a>, himself being accused of having sexually abused his stepdaughter (the only reason he can't be prosecuted being his judicial immunity)<sup>[<a href="/wiki/Help:References" title="Help:References"><i>citation needed</i></a>]</sup>, has described human rights activists and feminists as "<a href="/wiki/Fascism" title="Fascism">fascists</a>".<sup>[<a href="/wiki/Help:References" title="Help:References"><i>citation needed</i></a>]</sup> Ortega called the economic crisis a "punishment from God".<sup>[<a href="/wiki/Help:References" title="Help:References"><i>citation needed</i></a>]</sup> </p><p>Another "interesting" political figure in Nicaraguan recent history is former Managua mayor and President Arnoldo Aleman, who entered politics as a used car salesman with some US$10,000 to his name, and, after one term (1990-1995) as mayor of the capital and one term (1997-2002) as president, exited the presidential mansion with some US$100,000,000 in his possession and corruption charges being brought against him (go figure). His immediate successor and former vice president tried to push the prosecution forward, which ended up splitting his liberal<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">[note 2]</a></sup> bloc and undermining the President. Ortega seized the opportunity and agreed to change the 20-year jail term into house arrest<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">[note 3]</a></sup> in exchange for some political horse-trading. This deal, simply known as "el pacto", may very well have paved the way for the Sandinista electoral triumph of 2006, where the Liberals split the vote, whereas a Sandinista challenger to Ortega died days before the election. </p><p>In 2011, Ortega was reelected with an unprecedented 63% of the vote; the opposition candidates being the highly-corrupt ex-president Arnoldo Aleman<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7">[4]</a></sup> and the eighty-something Fabio Gadea Mantilla, plus purported voter fraud, making it easier for him to win the election. While the general economic outlook is better than it has been since the Contra war, corruption and cronyism plague the Ortega administration, and he, in turn, picks a fight (usually with Costa Rica, the US, or "the West" in general) whenever his political fortunes seem to be sinking. That being said, Ortega has still a strain of economic populism left in him as evidenced by a gift of new satellite dishes during the 2006 campaign season, highly-subsidized public transport (which in Nicaragua means buses and taxis) or "plan techo" whereby poor families can apply for a government-paid roof for their house. </p><p>In 2018, Nicaragua was beset by a series of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2018_Nicaraguan_protests" class="extiw" title="wp:2018 Nicaraguan protests" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: 2018 Nicaraguan protests">demonstrations</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> and is now in its most serious political crisis since the 1980s. It all began in April 2018 when the country was hit by a series of wildfires and the government's lackluster response to them. Then, Ortega decided to grab onto the third rail of politics and announced that there was going to be a tax hike and cuts to benefits to make up for shortfalls in the system. The result was a bloody and violent crackdown against demonstrators who then quickly escalated their goal to demand Ortega's resignation and early elections. International human rights monitors have found widespread abuses perpetrated by security forces and paramilitaries.<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8">[5]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9">[6]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Nicaragua_v._United_States"><i>Nicaragua v. United States</i></span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Nicaragua&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Nicaragua v. United States">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Nicaragua is notable for its role in the 1986 International Court of Justice case <i>Nicaragua v. United States</i>.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10">[7]</a></sup> In this case, Nicaragua charged the United States with interfering in a domestic conflict between the Nicaraguan FSLN government and armed far-right paramilitary insurgents. The case is a watershed in international humanitarian law (IHL), the branch of international law covering armed conflicts. </p><p>Because the United States was never directly involved in fighting the Nicaraguan armed forces with its own armed forces, the conflict was classified as a domestic conflict "with international characteristics" rather than an international conflict (one fought between two separate sovereign states by their military forces engaging directly with each other). However, the United States was found guilty of meddling in this domestic conflict <i>indirectly</i> by funding, arming, and training the Contras. The ICJ ultimately decided that Nicaragua was indeed entitled to compensation because, even though Nicaragua's military actions were only really against the Contras, the Contras themselves could not have sustained their guerrilla warfare without U.S. backing and financing (paragraphs 95-100 of the ICJ decision). </p><p>The United States claimed that it was only supporting the right-wing Contra paramilitaries against their left-wing Nicaraguan government because Nicaragua was supposedly backing a left-wing guerrilla insurgency against the right-wing government of neighboring El Salvador, and the U.S. was just trying to protect El Salvador from Nicaraguan meddling. The ICJ decided that this excuse does not hold up because El Salvador never directly asked the U.S. for help (paragraph 51), and even if it had, the U.S. would have to help El Salvador fight their guerrilla insurgents in El Salvador, not by fighting the supposed backers of these guerrillas in another country like Nicaragua. </p><p>To this day, Nicaragua has not received compensation from the U.S. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Nicaragua&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Iran-Contra" title="Iran-Contra">Iran-Contra</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Costa_Rica" title="Costa Rica">Costa Rica</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Notes">Notes</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Nicaragua&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Notes">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">To tell the whole truth though, the 1984 election was boycotted by parts of the right wing opposition and denounced as unfair by Reagan, while Carter said it was fair.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-5">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">In Nicaragua "liberal" has been the right wing ever since 1990. In fact, the governing party under Somoza was called the "Liberal Nationalist Party" and some early allies of the Sandinistas were self-identifying conservatives. While there still is a conservative party, it is very minor and usually allied with one of the major liberal blocs</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-6">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Which was changed into "you can't leave Nicaragua" and has been broken by a trip of Aleman to China, Cuba, and Russia (carefully avoiding countries where Interpol is looking for him on corruption charges)</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Nicaragua&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: References">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:80%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-1">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://billmoyers.com/content/here-in-the-mind-daisy-zamora-and-gary-snyder/">Here in the Mind: Daisy Zamora and Gary Snyder</a> by Bill Moyers</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1225218.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/country_profiles/1225218.stm</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-4">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB210/index.htm">http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB210/index.htm</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-7">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Look for his name on <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3567745.stm">this list</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-8">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/Nicaragua2018-en.pdf">http://www.oas.org/en/iachr/reports/pdfs/Nicaragua2018-en.pdf</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-9">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/AMR4392132018ENGLISH.PDF">https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/AMR4392132018ENGLISH.PDF</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-10">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">International Court of Justice. <i>Nicaragua v. United States.</i> 27 June 1986.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div role="navigation" aria-labelledby="Nations_of_the_world-navigationbox" class="toccolours" style="clear:both; margin:0.5em 3.5%; text-align:center;"> <div style="margin:0.15em; padding:0.1em; background:#ccccff; font-weight:bold;"><span id="Nations_of_the_world-navigationbox"><a href="/wiki/Nation" title="Nation">Nations</a> of the world</span> </div> <div class="hlist" style="font-size: 90%; margin: 0.15em 1.425em;"><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/Africa" title="Africa"><b>Africa</b></a>:</big></span><a href="/wiki/Algeria" title="Algeria">Algeria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo" title="Democratic Republic of the Congo">Democratic Republic of the Congo</a> — <a href="/wiki/Egypt" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> — <a href="/wiki/Eritrea" title="Eritrea">Eritrea</a> — <a href="/wiki/ESwatini" title="ESwatini">eSwatini</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ethiopia" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Guinea" title="Guinea">Guinea</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kenya" title="Kenya">Kenya</a> — <a href="/wiki/Liberia" title="Liberia">Liberia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Libya" title="Libya">Libya</a> — <a href="/wiki/Mali" title="Mali">Mali</a> — <a href="/wiki/Nigeria" title="Nigeria">Nigeria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Somalia" title="Somalia">Somalia</a> — <a href="/wiki/South_Africa" title="South Africa">South Africa</a> — <a href="/wiki/Sudan" title="Sudan">Sudan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Togo" title="Togo">Togo</a> — <a href="/wiki/Uganda" title="Uganda">Uganda</a> — <a href="/wiki/Zimbabwe" title="Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</a> <p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/Asia" title="Asia"><b>Asia</b></a>:</big></span> <a href="/wiki/Afghanistan" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Armenia" title="Armenia">Armenia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Azerbaijan" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bahrain" title="Bahrain">Bahrain</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bangladesh" title="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a> — <a href="/wiki/Brunei" title="Brunei">Brunei</a> — <a href="/wiki/Burma" title="Burma">Burma</a> — <a href="/wiki/Cambodia" title="Cambodia">Cambodia</a> — <a href="/wiki/China" title="China">China</a> — <a href="/wiki/Cyprus" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a> — <a href="/wiki/Egypt" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> — <a href="/wiki/Georgia_(country)" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a> — <a href="/wiki/India" title="India">India</a> — <a href="/wiki/Indonesia" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Iran" title="Iran">Iran</a> — <a href="/wiki/Iraq" title="Iraq">Iraq</a> — <a href="/wiki/Israel" title="Israel">Israel</a> — <a href="/wiki/Japan" title="Japan">Japan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Jordan" title="Jordan">Jordan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kazakhstan" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kuwait" title="Kuwait">Kuwait</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kyrgyzstan" title="Kyrgyzstan">Kyrgyzstan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Laos" title="Laos">Laos</a> — <a href="/wiki/Lebanon" title="Lebanon">Lebanon</a> — <a href="/wiki/Malaysia" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Maldives" title="Maldives">Maldives</a> — <a href="/wiki/Mongolia" title="Mongolia">Mongolia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Nepal" title="Nepal">Nepal</a> — <a href="/wiki/North_Korea" title="North Korea">North Korea</a> — <a href="/wiki/Oman" title="Oman">Oman</a> — <a href="/wiki/Pakistan" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Palestine" title="Palestine">Palestine</a> — <a href="/wiki/Philippines" title="Philippines">Philippines</a> — <a href="/wiki/Qatar" title="Qatar">Qatar</a> — <a href="/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Saudi_Arabia" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Singapore" title="Singapore">Singapore</a> — <a href="/wiki/South_Korea" title="South Korea">South Korea</a> — <a href="/wiki/Syria" title="Syria">Syria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Tajikistan" title="Tajikistan">Tajikistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Thailand" title="Thailand">Thailand</a> — <a href="/wiki/Timor-Leste" title="Timor-Leste">Timor-Leste</a> — <a href="/wiki/Turkey" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> — <a href="/wiki/Turkmenistan" title="Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates" title="United Arab Emirates">United Arab Emirates</a> — <a href="/wiki/Uzbekistan" title="Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Vietnam" title="Vietnam">Vietnam</a> — <a href="/wiki/Yemen" title="Yemen">Yemen</a> <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe"><b>Europe</b></a>:</big></span> <a href="/wiki/Albania" title="Albania">Albania</a> — <a href="/wiki/Austria" title="Austria">Austria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Belarus" title="Belarus">Belarus</a> — <a href="/wiki/Belgium" title="Belgium">Belgium</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bosnia_and_Herzegovina" title="Bosnia and Herzegovina">Bosnia and Herzegovina</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bulgaria" title="Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Channel_Islands" title="Channel Islands">Channel Islands</a> — <a href="/wiki/Croatia" title="Croatia">Croatia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Cyprus" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a> — <a href="/wiki/Czechia" title="Czechia">Czechia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Denmark" title="Denmark">Denmark</a> — <a href="/wiki/Estonia" title="Estonia">Estonia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Finland" title="Finland">Finland</a> — <a href="/wiki/France" title="France">France</a> — <a href="/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">Germany</a> — <a href="/wiki/Greece" title="Greece">Greece</a> — <a href="/wiki/Hungary" title="Hungary">Hungary</a> — <a href="/wiki/Iceland" title="Iceland">Iceland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ireland" title="Ireland">Ireland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Isle_of_Man" title="Isle of Man">Isle of Man</a> — <a href="/wiki/Italy" title="Italy">Italy</a> — <a href="/wiki/Latvia" title="Latvia">Latvia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Lithuania" title="Lithuania">Lithuania</a> — <a href="/wiki/Moldova" title="Moldova">Moldova</a> — <a href="/wiki/Netherlands" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a> — <a href="/wiki/North_Macedonia" title="North Macedonia">North Macedonia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Norway" title="Norway">Norway</a> — <a href="/wiki/Poland" title="Poland">Poland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Portugal" title="Portugal">Portugal</a> — <a href="/wiki/Romania" title="Romania">Romania</a> — <a href="/wiki/Russia" title="Russia">Russia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Serbia" title="Serbia">Serbia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Slovenia" title="Slovenia">Slovenia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Spain" title="Spain">Spain</a> — <a href="/wiki/Sweden" title="Sweden">Sweden</a> — <a href="/wiki/Switzerland" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Turkey" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ukraine" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a> — <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> (<a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a>, <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a>) — <a href="/wiki/Vatican_City" title="Vatican City">Vatican City</a> <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/North_America" title="North America"><b>North America</b></a>:</big></span> <a href="/wiki/Canada" title="Canada">Canada</a> — <a href="/wiki/Costa_Rica" title="Costa Rica">Costa Rica</a> — <a href="/wiki/Cuba" title="Cuba">Cuba</a> — <a href="/wiki/El_Salvador" title="El Salvador">El Salvador</a> — <a href="/wiki/Grenada" title="Grenada">Grenada</a> — <a href="/wiki/Haiti" title="Haiti">Haiti</a> — <a href="/wiki/Jamaica" title="Jamaica">Jamaica</a> — <a href="/wiki/Mexico" title="Mexico">Mexico</a> — <a class="mw-selflink selflink">Nicaragua</a> — <a href="/wiki/Panama" title="Panama">Panama</a> — <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> (<a href="/wiki/Puerto_Rico" class="mw-redirect" title="Puerto Rico">Puerto Rico</a>) <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/Oceania" title="Oceania"><b>Oceania</b></a>:</big></span> <a href="/wiki/Australia" title="Australia">Australia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kiribati" title="Kiribati">Kiribati</a> — <a href="/wiki/Nauru" title="Nauru">Nauru</a> — <a href="/wiki/New_Zealand" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a> — <a href="/wiki/Papua_New_Guinea" title="Papua New Guinea">Papua New Guinea</a> — <a href="/wiki/Pitcairn_Islands" title="Pitcairn Islands">Pitcairn Islands</a> <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/South_America" title="South America"><b>South America</b></a>:</big></span><a href="/wiki/Argentina" title="Argentina">Argentina</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bolivia" title="Bolivia">Bolivia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Brazil" title="Brazil">Brazil</a> — <a href="/wiki/Chile" title="Chile">Chile</a> (<a href="/wiki/Rapa_Nui" title="Rapa Nui">Rapa Nui</a>) — <a href="/wiki/Colombia" title="Colombia">Colombia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ecuador" title="Ecuador">Ecuador</a> — <a href="/wiki/Falkland_Islands" title="Falkland Islands">Falkland Islands</a> (<a href="/wiki/Falkland_Islands" title="Falkland Islands"><small>Malvinas</small></a>)— <a href="/wiki/Paraguay" title="Paraguay">Paraguay</a> — <a href="/wiki/Peru" title="Peru">Peru</a> — <a href="/wiki/Uruguay" title="Uruguay">Uruguay</a> — <a href="/wiki/Venezuela" title="Venezuela">Venezuela</a> <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><b>Separatist or disputed</b>:</big></span><a href="/wiki/Abkhazia" title="Abkhazia">Abkhazia</a> —<a href="/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia">Catalonia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Greenland" title="Greenland">Greenland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kashmir" title="Kashmir">Kashmir</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kosovo" title="Kosovo">Kosovo</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kurdistan" title="Kurdistan">Kurdistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Micronation" title="Micronation">Micronation</a> — <a href="/wiki/Northern_Cyprus" title="Northern Cyprus">Northern Cyprus</a> — <a href="/wiki/Sealand" class="mw-redirect" title="Sealand">Sealand</a> — <a href="/wiki/Somaliland" title="Somaliland">Somaliland</a> — <a href="/wiki/South_Ossetia" title="South Ossetia">South Ossetia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Taiwan" title="Taiwan">Taiwan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Tibet" title="Tibet">Tibet</a> — <a href="/wiki/Transnistria" title="Transnistria">Transnistria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Western_Sahara" title="Western Sahara">Western Sahara</a> </p> <span style="float:left;"><big><b>Historical</b>:</big></span><a href="/wiki/Ancient_Egypt" title="Ancient Egypt">Ancient Egypt</a> — <a href="/wiki/Belgian_Congo" title="Belgian Congo">Belgian Congo</a> — <a href="/wiki/British_Empire" title="British Empire">British Empire</a> — <a href="/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America" title="Confederate States of America">Confederate States of America</a> — <a href="/wiki/East_Germany" title="East Germany">East Germany</a> — <a href="/wiki/French_colonial_empire" title="French colonial empire">French 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