Sen. Cruz Introduces the Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act
Bill promotes freedom and human rights in Central America
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today introduced the Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act (NICA) as a companion to Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen’s (R-Fla.) and Albio Sires’ (D-N.J.) bipartisan House bill (H.R. 5708). This legislation would direct the United States to oppose international loans to Nicaragua until the Ortega regime is held accountable for its oppressive, anti-democratic actions and the Secretary of State certifies that Nicaragua is taking effective steps to hold free and fair elections.
“President Ortega’s ‘democracy’ is proving to be nothing more than a thinly veiled façade,” Sen. Cruz said. “Resorting to classic dictatorial tactics, Ortega has imposed a cloud of censorship upon the Nicaraguan people in order to isolate and silence those who are striving to live in a truly free society. The United States should not look the other way. We must do all we can to shine a bright light on President Ortega’s persecution and help the people of Nicaragua choose a path of freedom and prosperity. I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues to advance the Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act so that we may hold Ortega’s volatile leadership accountable and take a firm stand for liberty.”
Elliott Abrams, Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, praised NICA saying, “This is a smart, sensible, and tough American reply to the growing repression and tyranny in Nicaragua. Sen. Cruz is defending freedom in our Hemisphere from a bunch of anti-American Marxist thugs, and he ought to get 100 votes in the Senate for this excellent proposal.”
The Ortega regime has recently escalated their oppressive practices. In preparation of the upcoming November election, 28 members of the political opposition were ousted from the National Assembly for their refusal to recognize the newly appointed representative imposed by Ortega. Additionally, in June, the Nicaraguan government needlessly expelled three U.S. government officials from the country, which resulted in the U.S. State Department issuing a Travel Alert for U.S. citizens stating, “Nicaraguan authorities have denied entry to, detained, questioned, or expelled foreigners, including U.S. government officials, academics, NGO workers, and journalists, for discussions, written reports or articles, photographs, and/or videos related to [elections, the proposed inter-oceanic canal, volunteer or charitable visits, or topics deemed sensitive by or critical of the government]. Authorities may monitor and question private U.S. citizens concerning their activities, including contact with Nicaraguan citizens.”
The full text of Sen. Cruz’s Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act is available here.
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