Daniel Ortega closes Red Cross offices in Nicaragua and confiscates its assets

The regime of Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, continues the repression against the Nicaraguan population, the opposition media and now also against institutions such as the International Red Cross. This past Wednesday, the regime ordered the closure of the office of this institution in the country and the creation of a new Red Cross under the Ministry of Health (Minsa) of Nicaragua. The reason? According to Sandinismo, for ignoring its own founding principles, which are none other than to attend to the hundreds of wounded caused by the repression of the regime against the civilian population protesting against the Nicaraguan dictators.

"In the acts that took place in 2018, which attempted to rise against the peace and stability of the nation, some members of this association acted out of accordance with these principles -humanity, impartiality and neutrality, and of its articles of incorporation and bylaws, furthermore, the association itself transgressed the laws of the country by disregarding and even supporting the actions of its affiliates," states the decree published on Wednesday.

The Nicaraguan Red Cross was created in 1931 when the city of Managua was shaken by a terrible earthquake and then razed to the ground by a subsequent fire. The first secretary of the Parliament, Sandinista deputy Lorna Dixon, was in charge of submitting to the Chamber (completely controlled by the Ortega-Murillo couple) the bill that repeals the founding decree of the agency and orders the confiscation of its assets and their "transfer" to the Ministry of Health (Minsa).

In response to this uprising, the Sandinista dictatorship unleashed a cruel repression that left 448 dead, 2,830 wounded and 718 unaccounted for. Because they were opponents, they were denied medical assistance by the Minsa, and humanitarian aid organizations played a fundamental role in helping these victims.