Nicaragua’s failed coup
For three months Daniel Ortega and his government in Nicaragua were under intense pressure to resign – from protesters and opposition groups, from local media and from right-wing politicians in the US. But while the international pressure continues, in mid-July it became clear that, for the time being at least, the opposition no longer has […]
A letter to The Guardian
During the three months of political crisis in Nicaragua, The Guardian has produced some twenty reports, including a number from Managua and two from Masaya, a city that for several weeks was effectively under opposition control. Unfortunately, its coverage has been seriously unbalanced. A group of us based in Nicaragua, the US and the UK […]
After 2 Months of Unrest, Nicaragua Is at a Fateful Crossroads
If there’s no negotiated peace with a return to order, the conflict could spin out of control, bringing the chronic violence and insecurity of the country’s northern neighbours. In a video clip, a young boy stands at a makeshift barricade across a road. He holds a toy gun to the head of his friend. Off […]
An interview about the situation in Masaya
Tom Ricker of the Quixote Center in Maryland interviewed me about the current situation in Masaya (June 2018). Here is what I said. There has been a tremendous amount of violence in Masaya over the last week. Several people have been killed, a school was set on fire, and people assumed to be supporters of […]
After Ortega?
Nicaragua had a record 1.8 million tourists last year. It’s a beautiful country, and in 2017 it officially became the safest in Central America. But after three days of political violence last month, one of the few certainties in 2018 is that it will lose both records. More than 40 people died in the protests, […]
Getting to know the General
A review of Getting to Know the General: The Story of an Involvement by Graham Greene. For anyone interested in the politics of Central America in the 1970s and 1980s, which of course also requires an interest in the US intervention in the isthmus that intensified during the later stages of the Cold War, this […]
The NICA Act – What is it and why should it be opposed?
US Ambassador to Nicaragua, Laura Dagu reportedly has said that the Senate could vote on the NICA Act “any day now”. The US Nicaragua Network is asking members to contact their Senators to tell them they oppose its passage and that the case for it is based on false premises. This article was prepared for […]
US Senate launches attack on Nicaragua poverty programmes
In an extraordinary move on the day before the US Senate’s Christmas recess, two Democrats sided with right-wing Republicans to introduce the so-called NICA Act, which if passed would require the US government to veto loans from international financial institutions to Nicaragua. While it is still a long way from becoming law, the bill suddenly […]
‘Low integrity’ election in Honduras
Twenty-four people have been killed by police in demonstrations since the presidential election in Honduras three weeks ago. The centre-left Alliance, headed by Salvador Nasralla, appeared to be the clear winner after 57 per cent of votes had been counted, but a suspiciously dramatic late swing towards the incumbent, Juan Orlando Hernández, gave him a […]
Global Witness fails to respond to detailed criticisms
Criticism of the organisation Global Witness and the coverage of Nicaragua in its latest report on ‘environmental defenders’ has so far failed to shift its stance, or even to persuade it to look in detail at the arguments. Here are the latest developments. The Two Worlds article published on July 16 was accompanied by emails […]
John Perry lives in Masaya, Nicaragua where he works on