Daniel Ortega reiterates his support for Nicolás Maduro and offers “Sandinista fighters” if there is a “civil war” in Venezuela

2024-08-27 13:19:46

President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortegaonce again expressed his firm support for the Chavista government and offered to send “Sandinista fighters” if a civil war broke out in Venezuela. And he harshly criticized his Brazilian colleague, Lula da Silva, for not knowing Nicolás Maduro’s victory in the disputed elections on July 28.

“I want to pay attention to Nicolás, and it is certain that he has already thought about this, analyzed it and is ready, as this method (of changing the election results) has already failed for them (Venezuelan opposition), and that there is no turning back, there is no step back that Nicolás is the right president”, he can get weapons now, said the Sandinista leader, referring to the civil war that Nicaragua experienced in the 1980s.

During a virtual meeting with the leaders of the Bolivarian Alliance for the People of our America (ALBA), Ortega pointed out that Colombia could be a scenario where A Venezuelan “anti-revolution” because of the large border shared by the two countries, and where, he said, the United States has military bases.

In the event of a civil war in Venezuela, “you can count on the Sandinista fighters,” Ortega told Maduro, according to the 100% Noticias television channel.

If there is a war, “Colombian soldiers, Colombian assassins, Colombian drug dealers will participate. With the large border they have with Colombia, they will have to prepare, Nicolás, they will have to prepare to give them war and defeat them, because I am sure that if there is a war, they will defeat them,” Ortega warned.

The presidents of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, and Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, have a photo archive. Photo: AFP

“They will be able to count on the Sandinista fighters who will accompany them in the war and I am sure that, just as thousands of fighters joined the fight against Somoza in Nicaragua, they will also join here. Thousands of fighters Latin America and the Caribbean will also join here. join the defense of the Bolivarian revolution,” added one of the few presidents in the region who recognized the victory of Maduro in the presidential elections, while the opposition and independent parties opposed deceit.

The President of Nicaragua stated that he did not see the President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, “eating” this possible “war of mercenaries”, but he saw other previous leaders, among whom he mentioned Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010) and Iván Duque (2018) ) – 2022).

The opposition of Lula da Silva and Gustavo Petro

On the other hand, Ortega attacked Lula da Silva and Colombian President Gustavo Petro for not recognizing Maduro’s victory.

“Poor Petro, I see that he is competing with Lula to see who will be the leader who will represent the Yankees in Latin America,” Ortega said at the Extraordinary Conference XI of Alba, the Bolivarian Alliance founded by Hugo Chávez.

The presidents of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, did not consider the election of Nicolás Maduro in the controversial Venezuelan elections. Photo: REUTERS

The Sandinista leader then addressed the Brazilian president directly. “If you want me to respect you, respect me, Lula. If you want the Bolivarian people to respect you, respect the victory of President Maduro and do not allow yourself to be dragged (by the United States), ” he told her.

Ortega also referred to corruption scandals in Lula’s previous governments, such as the case of Lava Jato: “It is not a very clean government, remember that well, Lula, because I can say a dozen more things,” he concluded.

On August 8, Brazil’s ambassador to Nicaragua, Breno de Souza Brasil Días da Costa, left Nicaragua after coming. shut out by the Ortega government because he had not attended the event celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution.

Instead, Lula’s government expelled the Nicaraguan ambassador from Brasilia, Fulvia Castro.