The chairwoman of the subcommittee of the Western Hemisphere, Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar, has requested that Nicaragua be included in the list of state sponsors of terrorism. This request is based on the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo using the country as a platform to promote irregular migration to the United States. While this measure is not imminent, if implemented, it would entail stronger international sanctions, according to specialists consulted by LA PRENSA.
According to a press release from the congresswoman’s communications office, Salazar convened a hearing to denounce the curse that socialism represents for Central America and the Caribbean. Salazar referred to the detention in June of eight Tajiks who allegedly belong to the terrorist organization ISIS and are believed, unofficially, to have entered from Nicaragua.
To date, the United States has designated four countries as state sponsors of terrorism: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria.
According to the international relations specialist, Carlos Cascante Segura, it is unlikely that Nicaragua will be included in the list of terrorist states in the near future.
«Such requests by members of Congress are not uncommon because they have their own agendas with their voters. However, whether Nicaragua becomes part of the list will depend on the U.S. Department of State, so we would have to see the representative’s ability to influence the decision. But I don’t think we are that close to it happening,» Cascante told LA PRENSA.
According to Cascante, this would imply more economic sanctions, but directed at the country, which «do not ensure the government’s removal, but do make the economic effects much more extensive within the population.
If achieved, Nicaragua would set a serious precedent
According to an international relations specialist, who was granted anonymity for his fear of reprisals from the Nicaraguan regime, there is no precedent to date for the designation of a state as a sponsor of international terrorism due to migration issues.
«The only four countries currently designated are: Cuba, Iran, North Korea, and Syria. However, it is known that immigration control is a matter of national security for the U.S. government, and since 2018 there has been an executive order that considers the situation in Nicaragua a threat to the national security of the United States. This allows the president to use the same laws and sanctions, and others, without reaching a designation of the country as a state sponsor of terrorism,» he noted.
What are the implications of a country being designated as a terrorist state?
According to the consulted specialist, «when the Secretary of State determines that the authorities of a country have provided continuous or repeated support to those who commit acts of international terrorism, he can designate that country as a sponsor of terrorism based on three laws: First, Section 1754(c) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019; second, Section 40 of the Arms Export Control Act; and third, Section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.»
«These sanctions not only apply to the state and its authorities but also to third parties or entities, national or foreign, that interact with the state or its authorities in supporting the commission of acts of international terrorism,» he noted.
