Nicaragua’s national newspaper La Prensa report The government said on Wednesday that remittances from the United States had hit a record high.
Nicaragua has seen a surge in U.S. remittances sent by Nicaraguans abroad to relatives and friends back home, allowing the communist regime to fund the crackdown on dissent and collaborate with rogue regimes in countries like China, Russia and Iran.
La Prensa, Quote According to statistics from the Central Bank of Nicaragua (BCN), Nicaragua received $2,052 million in remittances in the first five months of 2024, an increase of 12.7 percent compared to the same period in 2023, an increase of $231 million.
Increase in remittances, La Prensa According to the paper, Nicaragua’s economic growth was mainly driven by remittances from the United States, which accounted for $1.688 billion in the total. The paper explained that of every $100 that flows into the Nicaraguan economy through remittances, $82 comes from the United States.
La Prensa Additionally, he noted that Nicaragua received a record $462.4 million in remittances in May 2024, of which $385.9 million came from the U.S. For comparison, the total amount sent from the U.S. to Nicaragua in May 2017 was $69.2 million.
The amount of U.S. remittances sent to Nicaragua in May was 3.2 times the $118.2 million received in May 2021, when communist dictator Daniel Ortega reportedly began forcibly sending remittances to Nicaragua. schedule They aim to use the immigration issue as a “weapon” against the United States, forcing the US government into negotiations with the dictatorial regime for potential sanctions relief.
In recent years, the Ortega government has dramatically intensified its brutal crackdown. Expel Hundreds of people, including Nicaraguan dissidents Catholic Church, It has been the subject of an intense campaign of persecution. The church was targeted after protests in April 2018 brought thousands of Nicaraguans into the streets, calling for freedom and an end to communism.
The worsening human rights situation in Nicaragua under the Ortega regime has led hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans to flee the country. La Prensa Estimation In April, it was announced that 800,000 people have fled Nicaragua since 2018. In fiscal year 2022, U.S. border officials Log The number of Nicaraguan nationals encountered at the southern border was 163,876.
WATCH: Migrant women express fear of Nicaraguan government
Randy Clark, Breitbart Texas
US President Joe Biden’s Administration Release “Humanitarian Parole” Program In January 2023, a new program will be launched that will allow up to 30,000 citizens of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela to apply for entry to the United States per month. Beneficiaries of this program will be given advance permission to travel to the United States and will be allowed to stay and work for up to two years. As of December 2023, U.S. authorities Reportedly was found eligible for parole Approximately 60,000 Nicaraguans.
Expert explanation In 2023, President Ortega will benefit both economically and politically from allowing Nicaraguans to flee the country and send remittances to their families: allowing Nicaraguans to flee the country allows the communist dictator to “calm domestic unrest,” while the remittances sent back home by migrants act as “social policy” and the increased economic activity they generate allows President Ortega to “lift a finger” in reviving Nicaragua’s struggling economy.
Experts also say the goods and services paid for by locals with the money received through remittances provide direct revenue to the communist regime, as they are subject to taxes such as value-added tax (VAT) that help balance the regime’s struggling finances.
2023, Nicaragua received Family remittances reached a then-record 4.32 billion euros (about $4.6 billion), roughly 30% of Nicaragua’s gross domestic product (GDP). Of the total, $3.56 billion came from the U.S. In 2022, Nicaragua received a total of $3.22 billion in remittances, equivalent to 23% of the country’s GDP.
La Prensa Costa Rica, Spain and Panama reportedly rank just behind the U.S. on the list of top senders of remittances to Nicaragua. Like the U.S., Costa Rica and Spain saw their remittances grow by 18.7% and 10.6%, respectively, in the first five months of 2024. Panama, in fourth place, saw its remittances fall by 3.4%, totaling $22.7 million from January to May 2024.
Christian K. Caruso is a Venezuelan author documenting life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter. here.
