From Kim Jong Un to Maduro: Dictators congratulate Ortega

Daniel Ortega has been congratulated by countries that share the same authoritarian line of the regime such as Venezuela, Cuba, Russia, and North Korea

By La Prensa

HAVANA TIMES – North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un congratulated Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo after obtaining, according to Nicaragua’s Supreme Electoral Council, 75.87 percent of the votes in the disputed November 7 election. He joined the short list of nations, mostly undemocratic, that praise the results of that election, described as an “electoral farce” by Nicaraguan analysts and some forty democratic countries.

The letter from the North Korean dictator, dated November 10, conveys “warm congratulations” from Kim Jong-Un to Ortega and announces that his country is interested in strengthening diplomatic ties with Nicaragua.

The letter reads “I take this opportunity to express my conviction that the friendship and collaboration between our two countries will deepen and develop even further, and I sincerely wish you much success in carrying out your great responsibilities for the independent development of your country.”

Authoritarian regimes

Several countries have celebrated “the triumph” of Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, but most of them are classified as authoritarian regimes or dictatorships and are accused of committing serious human rights violations. These include Venezuela, Cuba, Russia, North Korea and Iran. 

With his recent decisions and actions, Ortega is taking Nicaragua down a dangerous path towards international isolation. These are the allies he has left, some distant countries, who endorse his recent election.

An economist, who prefers anonymity for fear of reprisals, recently told LA PRENSA that the aid these nations can offer Nicaragua would be insufficient “because the countries with significant cooperation (with Nicaragua) in the realms of trade relations and remittances are the countries of the European Union, the United States, Costa Rica, etc.”

Why was it an “electoral farce”

The November 7 election has been one of the most questioned in the history of Nicaragua. First, because Ortega and Murillo’s authoritarian regime ordered the imprisonment of presidential candidates who had the potential to obtain a large number of votes, and before the elections they canceled the legal status of three political parties. Then on election day a high level of abstentionism was clearly visible.

The unathorized independent observer Urnas Abiertas (Open Ballot Boxes) calculated that the election had only 18.5 percent participation, making the abstention rate 81.5 percent.

If this new term ends at the beginning of 2027, Daniel Ortega would have 20 consecutive years in power, in addition to the period in which he served his first term (1985 -1990).

Economist and sociologist Oscar Rene Vargas said the fact that Ortega and Murillo continue to govern means “more poverty, misery, repression, inequality and more chaos” for Nicaragua.

“The vast majority of young people did not vote because they see that economic and social progress is going the wrong way, away from the official discourse of the regime. The bulk of the population decided to stay home and not participate in the “electoral farce.” In other words, through an act of civil disobedience the citizenry gave him a political defeat, and put the foundations of the dictatorship in check,” he added.

Continuing along this line Vargas maintained that “due to its absolute lack of legitimacy and legality, Ortega’s re-election threatens to revive social discontent towards his government and relaunch the protest movement that since 2018 brings together the most diverse opposition sectors, a true grassroots movement that the Ortega regime only managed to quash at the cost of more than 400 deaths, the creation of paramilitary shock troops and the establishment of a genuine police state.”

Read more from Nicaragua here on Havana Times.