[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 145 (Tuesday, August 10, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6267-S6268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               NICARAGUA

  Mr. MENENDEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to discuss the accelerating 
political crisis in Nicaragua and the Ortega regime's anti-democratic 
efforts to hold illegitimate elections in November.
  On November 7, Daniel Ortega will attempt to deny the Nicaraguan 
people their most basic right: the right to choose their country's 
leaders in free and fair elections. This grave restriction on basic 
democratic freedoms confirms that the Ortega regime is consolidating 
the Western Hemisphere's third dictatorship. In the lead up to these 
elections and in response to unrestrained assaults against democracy, 
the U.S. Senate unanimously passed my legislation entitled the 
``Reinforcing Nicaragua's Adherence to Conditions for Electoral Reform 
(RENACER) Act.'' This bipartisan legislation, taken together with the 
Biden administration's additional imposition of visa restrictions 
against individuals affiliated with the regime, demonstrates the United 
States is firmly committed to the restoration of democracy to 
Nicaragua.
  The legislation is also consistent with our commitments to promote 
and defend democracy in the Americas. As the 20th anniversary of the 
Inter-American Democratic Charter approaches next month, we must 
recognize that a growing trend of deeply flawed and fraudulent 
electoral processes jeopardizes regional consensus in support of free, 
fair, and transparent elections across the Americas. Whether in 
Nicaragua in 2016, Honduras in 2017, Bolivia in 2019, Guyana in 2020, 
or Venezuela in 2017, 2018, and 2020, democratic elections are under 
attack by autocrats and populists alike. Regretfully, the Ortega regime 
is taking steps to continue this trend.
  Today, Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo hold more than 140 political 
prisoners, including eight opposition candidates for President and Vice 
President. These individuals represent a broad political spectrum and 
include Arturo Cruz, Felix Maradiaga, Juan Sebastian Chamorro, Medardo 
Mairena, and Miguel Mora. Three more contenders, Berenice Quezada, 
Cristiana Chamorro, and Noel Vidaurre, are under house arrest.
  On July 27, the regime incarcerated the country's 76-year-old former 
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Francisco Aguirre Sacasa, under bogus 
charges of treason and without regard for his health or well-being. The 
regime is holding Sacasa and many others at El Chipote detention 
center: a facility infamous for acts of torture and ill-treatment, 
according to the United Nations Human Rights Commission. The regime 
continues to deny prisoners due process, access to family contact, and 
legal counsel. Essentially, many of them have been disappeared.
  On Friday, Ortega cancelled the registration of the last remaining 
opposition political party that was positioned to participate in the 
November elections, Ciudadanos por la Libertad--Citizens for Freedom. 
The regime went as far as to strip the head of that party of her 
Nicaraguan citizenship. These are not actions that would be tolerated 
in any democratic system in the world; these are the actions of a tin-
pot dictator.
  The events since June are the culmination of the Ortega regime's 
years-long process to dismantle democracy in Nicaragua. When 
Nicaraguans took to the streets to protest their living conditions in 
2018, the regime responded with a brutal campaign of violence. Over 330 
protesters were killed. Today, the number of Nicaraguans fleeing the 
country is on the rise, increasing the complexity and reach of the 
challenge.
  The Ortega-Murillo regime's authoritarian power grab poses a direct 
challenge to U.S. national security and regional stability. I am proud 
to have authored the RENACER Act and to lead the bipartisan, bicameral 
effort to send a clear message to Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo: 
Reverse course now and the international community stands ready to 
support the restoration of democracy; or continue down the current path 
and face consequences.
  The RENACER Act requires the United States, working with our partners 
in the European Union, Canada, and Latin America and the Caribbean, to 
align our diplomatic efforts and sanctions tools to push for one goal, 
democratic elections. The bill requires increased intelligence 
reporting on the regime's corruption and its malign partnership with 
Russia. This legislation will provide for better documentation of human 
rights violations and guarantee that the regime and its enablers are 
held accountable.
  The law further calls for the President to review Nicaragua's 
participation in the Central America Free Trade Agreement--CAFTA. The 
United States would never sign a free trade agreement with Belarus 
given the authoritarian conditions that exist in the country. And the 
United States should not turn a blind eye if one of our free trade 
partners becomes the Belarus of Central America.
  In closing, let there be no doubts--the United States will continue 
to support defenders of democracy in Nicaragua, condemn violence and 
intimidation, and hold accountable the Ortega regime and those who 
support it. If Daniel Ortega assumes a fourth consecutive term via sham 
elections, he will rule without a shred of legitimacy.
  I urge my colleagues in the House of Representatives to pass the 
RENACER Act so that we can speak with a single voice and make it clear 
that Daniel Ortega's paranoia of losing at the ballot box is no excuse 
for his systematic

[[Page S6268]]

dismantling of Nicaragua's democratic system.

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