Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega on Monday distanced himself from the paramilitary groups attacking citizens in his country while stating to President Donald Trump that Nicaragua, though small, demands respect.
“We are a small country with a fragile economy, but we deserve respect,” Ortega said on Fox News’ “Special Report” when Bret Baier asked why he agreed to the interview and if he had a message for the American people and, perhaps Trump.
Protests started in Venezuela on April 19 over proposed cuts to social security benefits. Many on the streets have called for Ortega to step down and say he has turned into a dictator. Nearly 300 people have been killed during the protests, according to human rights groups, and reports out of Nicaragua suggest paramilitary forces loyal to Ortega are behind the attacks.
On Monday, CBS reported that those same military forces fired into a Catholic church earlier this month as 100 university students sought shelter – two were killed.
Ortega, who has ruled the country for 22 of the last 40 years, said the forces attacking protestors calling for his ouster were “paramilitary forces organized by people who are against the government and have fought against police stations.”
They are financed with drug trafficking and through “different organizations, even in the United States,” he told Baier.
Ortega also said the situation was being made public to “scare people, to sow fear and terror among people.”
“These are groups that obey political organizations. Some even elected deputies to national assembly. They are members of the liberal party.”
On Congress preparing to pass a resolution condemning the violent actions of the Nicaraguan government against its citizens, Ortega said: “It’s totally untrue. They have cheated everybody. There is plenty of proof of that. People have been taken care of. It’s been a campaign of lies. Terrible lies to try to hurt the image of Nicaragua and of its government.”
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