[News] Document exposes new US plot to overthrow Nicaragua's elected socialist gov't

[Anti-Imperialist News]

https://thegrayzone.com/2020/08/04/usaid-document-nicaragua-coup/ Document
exposes new US plot to overthrow Nicaragua's elected socialist gov't
August 4, 2020
A disturbing new document outlines plans for a US regime-change scheme
against Nicaragua’s elected leftist government, overseen by USAID, to bring
about a “market economy” and a purge of Sandinistas. By Ben Norton

A newly released document exposes a US government operation to overthrow
the democratically elected socialist government in Nicaragua
<https://thegrayzone.com/2020/07/23/nicaragua-sandinista-revolution-41-anniversary/>
.

The plot is administered by the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID), a regime-change vehicle that uses the pretense of
“humanitarian aid”
<https://thegrayzone.com/2020/01/23/usaid-venezuela-regime-change-trump/>
to advance Washington’s aggressive foreign-policy interests.

The document (PDF
<https://s3.amazonaws.com/rlp680/files/uploads/2020/07/31/aid-mayo-2020-ingles.pdf>)
details the creation of a new “task order” called Responsive Assistance in
Nicaragua (RAIN) and its plan for “Nicaragua’s transition to democracy” – a
euphemism for removing the leftist Sandinista Front for National Liberation
(known commonly by the Spanish acronym FSLN) from power.

In the pages, the US government agency uses hardline neoconservative
rhetoric, referring to Nicaragua’s elected government as the “Ortega
regime,” and making it clear that Washington wants to install a neoliberal
administration that will privatize the economy, impose neoliberal reforms,
and purge all institutions of any trace of the leftist Sandinista movement.

The USAID regime-change scheme states openly that one of its top “mission
goals” is for Nicaragua <https://thegrayzone.com/category/nicaragua/> to
“transition to a rules-based market economy” based on the “protection of
private property rights.”

The document concludes by calling for the future US-installed regime in
Nicaragua to “rebuild institutions” and “reestablish” the military and
police; to “dismantle parallel institutions” that support the Sandinista
Front; and to persecute FSLN leaders through “transitional justice
measures” – in other words, a thorough purge of the Sandinista movement to
prevent it from ever returning to power.

In case it was not explicit enough that Washington’s goal was regime
change, the 14-page USAID document employed the word “transition” 102
times, including nine times on the first page alone.

USAID <https://thegrayzone.com/tag/usaid/> declared its intention to assist
in what could be an “orderly transition” or a “sudden transition without
elections,” which is clear code for a coup. At the same time, it
acknowledged that Nicaragua’s right-wing opposition is divided and has
little chance of winning the upcoming 2021 national election.

[image: USAID Nicaragua transition coup]
USAID oversees another far-right coup attempt in Latin America

Ever since the Sandinista Front returned to power in Nicaragua through
democratic elections in 2006, Washington has been hellbent on trying to
topple it.

In 2018, the Donald Trump administration supported a violent coup attempt
in Nicaragua
<https://thegrayzone.com/2020/02/28/us-oas-nicaragua-political-prisoners-murder/>,
in which far-right gangs took over neighborhoods and paralyzed the country
with bloody barricades known as tranques. The US-backed insurgents
unleashed a reign of terror
<https://thegrayzone.com/2018/06/19/ned-nicaragua-protests-us-government/>,
killing and injuring hundreds of Sandinista activists and state security
forces; marking the homes of leftist activists, ransacking and burning some
down; and torturing and threatening supporters of the elected government.

When the 2018 putsch attempt failed, the US government resorted to a raft
of aggressive tactics to bring down Nicaragua’s leadership. In the past two
years, the Trump administration has imposed several rounds of suffocating
sanctions on the small Central American nation
<https://thegrayzone.com/2020/03/12/us-house-sanctions-nicaragua/>, often
with bipartisan support in Congress
<https://thegrayzone.com/2018/12/14/congress-sanctions-nicaragua-nica-act/>,
not a word of opposition from the Democratic Party, and cheers from
the billionaire-funded
human rights industry
<https://thegrayzone.com/2020/04/08/billionaire-human-rights-watch-sanctions-nicaragua-venezuela/>
.

The US Agency for International Development was instrumental in the
Donald Trump
administration’s violent US coup attempts
<https://thegrayzone.com/2019/02/24/burning-aid-colombia-venezuela-bridge/>
against Venezuela’s elected government in 2019, working directly with the
Department of Defense
<https://thegrayzone.com/2019/02/20/regime-change-usaid-aid-workers-military-intelligence/>.
USAID has poured hundreds of millions of dollars funding the US
regime-change efforts
<https://thegrayzone.com/2020/01/23/usaid-venezuela-regime-change-trump/>
against the leftist Chavista government, and has bankrolled the Trump-backed
coup regime of Juan Guaidó
<https://thegrayzone.com/2019/01/29/the-making-of-juan-guaido-how-the-us-regime-change-laboratory-created-venezuelas-coup-leader/>
.

USAID has always functioned as a CIA cutout and soft-power arm for
Washington. But under the Trump administration, it has kicked its coup
efforts in Latin America into hyper drive.

In April 2020, USAID was taken over by de facto director John Barsa, a
hardline Republican businessman, Trump ally, and son of anti-communist
Cuban immigrants. In coordination with Secretary of State and former CIA
Director Mike Pompeo, Barsa has turned USAID into a blunt weapon of regime
change, openly financing putsch efforts against the socialist governments
of Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua.
US govt’s Democracy International posts job listing for USAID coup liaison
in Nicaragua

The Grayzone contacted USAID to ask confirmation that the document
detailing its plans for a political “transition” in Nicaragua was
authentic. The agency did not respond.

We were able, however, to gather evidence demonstrating the document’s
legitimacy. The pages spelling out the regime-change plot employ precisely
the same language and phrases as a job listing that was posted in late July
by another US government-funded organization, Democracy International. In
fact, the USAID document appears to be a more detailed job description for
this post.

Democracy International stated in its listing <http://archive.fo/ShTNo> on
LinkedIn <http://archive.vn/C5buY> that it was seeking a Nicaraguan
national in the capital of Managua to work as a “Senior Level Technical
Expert – Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance to provide technical and
programmatic support for USAID/Nicaragua’s Responsive Assistance in
Nicaragua (RAIN) Task Order.”

Directly echoing the USAID document, the Democracy International job
listing said that the “purpose of the Task Order is ‘to provide rapid,
responsive, and relevant analytical and technical assistance that bridge
USAID/Nicaragua’s efforts to create the conditions for, and support, a
peaceful transition to democracy in Nicaragua.'”

This employee would help develop a “Transition Response Plan” – a
regime-change scheme. (The brief job listing uses the term “transition” 10
times
<https://thegrayzone.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/LinkedIn-Democracy-International-Nicaragua-USAID-coup-transition.png>
.)

[image: LinkedIn Democracy International Nicaragua USAID coup]

During the Cold War, coup coordination jobs like these would have been
covert positions arranged with the CIA
<https://twitter.com/maxblumenthal/status/1032436236055662597>. In the
freewheeling 21st century, however, this dirty regime-change work is
carried out in the open
<https://thegrayzone.com/2018/08/20/inside-americas-meddling-machine-the-us-funded-group-that-interferes-in-elections-around-the-globe/>,
and advertised publicly on LinkedIn.

In case it wasn’t clear what this organization’s relationship was to USAID,
it stated clearly on the post: “Democracy International, Inc. (DI) provides
technical assistance, analytical services and project implementation for
democracy, human rights, governance and conflict mitigation programs
worldwide for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the
U.S. State Department and other development partners.”

The job listing explicitly noted that the employee would work with the US
government to provide “technical advice and country knowledge to GON
(government of Nicaragua) ministries, USG (US government), and other
stakeholders.”

Clearly, Democracy International is searching for a local point person to
help carry out Washington’s regime-change efforts on the ground. The USAID
document spelled out in detail the specific destabilization strategy that
this liaison would follow.

The Grayzone called the Democracy International office with a request for
comment on the LinkedIn job listing, the RAIN program, and the USAID
document. A secretary would not let us speak with a specific member of the
international team, simply saying, “We will inform the relevant people that
we have received a call and I can give them their name and number and they
will call you.”

The secretary asked if The Grayzone had a specific question to respond to.
We said, “Local Nicaraguan media outlets have criticized USAID’s RAIN
program, which is described in the Democracy International job posting, and
characterized it as what appears to be an attempt at orchestrating a coup
in the country. Can you respond to that characterization and do you think
it is fair or unfair?” The Democracy International secretary replied, “Wow
that’s so interesting. I will definitely let them know that you called.”
USAID’s regime-change plot to “transition” Nicaragua to a “market economy”

USAID’s Responsive Assistance in Nicaragua (RAIN) plan makes it clear that
it is just a “short term bridge” to bring about regime change in the
country, adding, “It is USAID’s intent to follow RAIN with longer-term
programs, which will be determined as the crisis evolves.”

The regime-change plot outlined a “Mission Goal 2” in which “Nicaragua
provides basis for future economic growth and increased trade through
transition to a rules-based market economy based on transparent and
accountable regulatory institutions, fiscal and monetary stability, respect
for the rule-of-law and protection of private property rights.”

A supplementary “mission objective” emphasized USAID’s desire for a new
neoliberal regime in Nicaragua that “works with the private sector to
rebuild institutionality and an efficient and fair administrative
bureaucracy” – in other words, mass privatization.

(Among the supposed crimes committed by the Nicaraguan “regime,” USAID
lists “confiscation of properties.”)

[image: USAID Nicaragua coup market economy private property]

The USAID document outlined further US priorities for Nicaragua following a
successful regime-change operation.

USAID’s “Mission Goal 3” would be “Security reform and rebuilding
institutions” to “reestablish independent and professional security
forces.” This is clearly a call for purging the police and military of
Sandinista loyalists and bring in US trainers to establish a
neocolonial-style security force, much like General Keith Dayton
<https://electronicintifada.net/content/why-obama-should-fire-general-dayton/8327>
did in the occupied West Bank after Palestinian resistance was extinguished
following the Second Intifada.

The “new government must act quickly to dismantle parallel institutions,”
USAID adds. This is an indirect hint that Washington seeks to destroy the
Sandinista Front, the Sandinista Youth, and other grassroots institutions
that work with but are independent of the current socialist government. At
its most severe, such a proposal could amount to an Augusto Pinochet-style
purge of the left in Nicaragua.

“Additionally, it will need to implement transitional justice measures,”
the USAID document added. This language, which has also been used in the
proxy war on Syria
<https://thegrayzone.com/2019/06/19/commission-for-international-justice-and-accountability-cija-syria-al-qaeda/>,
suggests the new neoliberal Nicaraguan government would be compelled to
prosecute Sandinista Front officials, echoing the strategy the US-backed
right-wing regimes in Bolivia and Ecuador have used
<https://thegrayzone.com/2019/11/27/right-wing-coup-bolivia-complete-junta-hunting-dissidents/>
to criminalize the left-wing parties that previously ruled those countries,
hunt down former leftist leaders, and throw opposition officials in prison
<https://thegrayzone.com/2020/05/06/ecuadors-moreno-persecutes-coronavirus/>
on dubious charges.

Another important part of the RAIN job would include recruiting native coup
coordinators to help carry out the regime-change plot. USAID described this
responsibility as follows: “Identification of potential Nicaraguan partners
for rapid impact Grants Under Task Order to promote transition-related
activities.”

The initiative allotted $540,000 in grants to entice Nicaraguan opposition
groups into assisting the regime-change effort. (In the second-poorest
country in the Western hemisphere, where the minimum wage is between $200
and $300 per month, half a million dollars is no petty sum.)

These funds would compliment the millions of dollars that USAID and the NED
provide to right-wing Nicaraguan organizations
<https://thegrayzone.com/2018/06/19/ned-nicaragua-protests-us-government/>
every
year.

The USAID document insisted that “Nicaragua’s immediate future remains
highly uncertain.” Yet it acknowledged that the right-wing opposition is
divided and unpopular, admitting that its leadership has not “coalesced
around a party or candidate.”

Taking into account the weakness of the opposition heading into the 2021
national elections, the USAID plan outlines three scenarios for the
overthrow of the socialist government and a “transition” to a US-friendly
neoliberal regime.

The first is an “Orderly Transition scenario,” a far-fetched situation in
which an unpopular US-backed opposition group somehow manages to win the
election.

The second potential regime-change scenario is described as a “Sudden,
Unanticipated Transition,” in “which one or more political crises, such as
a snap or failed election, a presidential resignation, a major health
crisis, a major natural disaster, or internal conflicts, lead to sudden
regime crisis and transition either to an interim government or a new
government.” This is the coup option, and USAID makes it clear that it
would be more than happy with such a situation, and wants its RAIN liaison
to prepare for it.

The third is a “Delayed Transition scenario,” in which the Sandinista
government remains in power. In this case, USAID says that RAIN would help
it destabilize the government in other ways and lead to future regime
change.

[image: USAID Nicaragua sudden transition without elections coup]

But USAID didn’t want readers to get the wrong impression. It stressed in
the document that its coup would be “gender sensitive in compliance” and
based on “gender-informed analytical work.” (Although the women who make up
the bulk of the Sandinista base
<https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/Nicaragua-in-Fifth-Position-For-Gender-Equality-in-The-World-20181218-0032.html>
would have to be excluded from Washington’s woke political “transition”).

The USAID document balanced its liberal language on gender with
neoconservative rhetoric claiming, “Malign foreign influences, principally
Cuba, Venezuela, and Russia, will continue to attempt to strengthen the
corrupt autocratic Ortega regime.”
“What if Nicaragua did that in the United States?”

The existence of the USAID regime-change document was first reported on
July 31 on the popular Nicaraguan radio and video show Sin Fronteras
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obHyEhv9aJ0>, hosted by William Grigsby
Vado.

Grigsby, a prominent leftist media personality with a large following at
the base of the Sandinista Front, condemned the US plot. “It is nauseating,
the document; bearing to read it is difficult,” he said in outrage. “You
have to have a strong liver to bear it. It pained me a lot.”

“What right does the US government have to contract a firm to subvert
public order in any country?” Grigsby fumed. “It is a shameless
intervention. Before they did it with the military; in this case they are
doing it by subverting public order and funding political opposition
activities. That is unacceptable!”

“What if Nicaragua did that in the United States, if for example Daniel
Ortega said, ‘Hey, we’re going to help the protesters in Portland’?” he
added. “But they reserve to themselves the right to act against the
democratic institutionality of a country.”

Grigsby concluded by condemning “yankee imperialism” and slamming
Nicaraguan opposition figures who are participating in this regime-change
scheme.

“You all can do one of two things,” he thundered at the opposition. “Follow
the rules of democracy, accept your defeat, and participate in the
political game. Or you can simply remain as treasonists, hitmen, and
traitors.”

The USAID document shows Washington pushing the latter option, and driving
the country into a deepened conflict.


Ben Norton is a journalist, writer, and filmmaker. He is the assistant
editor of The Grayzone, and the producer of the Moderate Rebels
<http://moderaterebelsradio.com/> podcast, which he co-hosts with editor
Max Blumenthal. His website is BenNorton.com <http://bennorton.com/> and he
tweets at @BenjaminNorton <https://twitter.com/BenjaminNorton>.
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