Harold Urbina: Story of a Sandinista Revolutionary; Opposition supports new Tariffs; New $50 Million US Bounty on President Maduro
Ken Yale interviews Harold Urbina: A Nicaraguan View from the Frontlines: Revolution, Reconciliation, and Resistance A very informative account, too hard to summarize, by Harold Urbina of his life as a Sandinista supporter and member. This describes what it was like to go through and organize during the 1980s, the neoliberal period, and the new Sandinista era. It is an excellent firsthand account of these periods by a Sandinista activist.
Co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo Message to President Maduro after the new $50 Million US Bounty “Beloved Nicholas: From this Nicaragua full of Heroism, fervent Struggles and great Works of Faith, Enthusiasm, Passion and Decisiveness; From this Undefeated Nicaragua, to your Exemplary, Inspiring, Liberating and so very Heroic Venezuela…. Nicolas, Brother, Valiant Son of Chavez, Bravest Son of Bolivar: We are the same Race; We are the same Blood; We are Our American and Caribbean, Always Further On, defending the Great Patriotic Nation, Our Patriotic Nations, such that no outburst, no nonsense, no insanity, no Empire, can beat us, because We Neither Sell Out, Nor Surrender, Ever! We are from a Free, Sovereign Patriotic Nation, and this Sovereignty we do not discuss, we just defend it! Onward, Nicolas, Onward, Venezuela, We are going to overcome, We Are Victorious. We know this for sure!”
Black Alliance for Peace Condemns US Government Attack on Venezuelan Sovereignty US Issues $50 million bounty while sanctioning Venezuelan people and starving Gaza. The unfounded claims are not only false but also dangerous, as they lay the narrative groundwork to justify a military attack, and is the next phase of a long lawfare campaign. By linking Maduro to transnational criminal organizations, they expand the justification for the use of force and usher in the drumbeats of war. This attack on the Venezuelan people follows a long list of tactics used by US empire to subvert the Bolivarian Revolution, such as economic warfare, the theft and piracy of the oil company Citgo, pushing so-called leaders like Juan Guaido.
John Perry: Nicaragua’s Opposition Media Welcome Trump’s New Tariffs A minimum 10% tariff on exports to the US will hit countries throughout the region. But exports from Nicaragua have been saddled with an even higher tariff of 18%. Delighted opponents of the Sandinista government have blamed it, rather than Trump, for the country receiving this additional penalty. Trump’s chart of tariffs has two sets of figures for each country: the “tariffs charged to the USA” and the “reciprocal tariffs” to be imposed this month. Bizarrely, the “tariffs charged to the USA” do not relate to actual tariffs charged on US imports. Instead, they are the product of a calculation based on each country’s trade gap with the US.
Nicaragua’s opposition media, long financed by the US government, admit that they were hit by Elon Musk’s DOGE cuts. How they are now funded is unclear. However, prominent opposition activists enjoy salaried employment in US universities and think tanks, where they call for sanctions that would hit poor Nicaraguans. Naturally, they welcomed Trump’s tariffs on Nicaragua. Opposition media are trying to present the new tariff as the first round of the stronger sanctions on Nicaragua that they have been urging Washington to adopt.
John Perry, Roger Harris: A quartet of Nicaragua critics sings from Washington’s songbook Recently writers have attacked Nicaragua’s Sandinista government: Jaden Hong, a high-school student in Washington state, who has never visited the country; Jared O. Bell, a former USAID Foreign Service Officer; Barb Arland-Fye, editor of a Catholic newspaper in Iowa; and Gioconda Belli, a 76-year-old Nicaraguan novelist in self-exile. Writing in outlets ranging from The Teen Magazine to the New York Times, they have produced a string of biased, ill-informed pieces that reflect Washington’s talking points as it pursues its regime-change agenda. It is Nicaragua’s remarkable battle against poverty, unmentioned in the articles, that is seen by Washington as the real “threat,” because it challenges the neoliberal order.
Upcoming Events
August 24, 3 pm ET: Nicaragua Webinar. Mark your calendars during this hurricane season to learn about SINAPRED, Nicaragua’s National System for Prevention, Mitigation and Attention to Disasters, and how it contrasts with the US system.
Sunday, August 24, 2 - 4pm ET: People's Music Network - Singing for a Livable Future International Song Swap. PMN invites musicians from around the world to participate in our August song swap. We hope that musicians in Nicaragua will join in this.
August 29-31 (Detroit): Peoples Conference for Palestine endorsed by Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition. If you would also like to attend, please send a message to Nicaraguasolidaritycoaliton@gmail.com
August 30-Sept. 1 (Portland): International Migrants Conference
September 21, 3 pm ET: Nicaragua Webinar on Nicaragua’s and Venezuela’s remarkable affordable housing programs, with Sofia M. Clark of the Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann Center in Managua; Elizabeth Santos, president of FundaVivienda, associated with Gran Mision Vivienda Venezuela
Nicaragua Delegations
Casa Ben Linder Email casabenjaminlinder@gmail.com to apply:
November 2025: Salud & Solidaridad: Hands-On Healthcare in Nicaragua
22-31 January 2026: The Bird Brigade: Birding in Solentiname Arquipelago
7-15 March 2026: Power & Protagonism: Women in Nicaragua
June 2026: Global Health: Family and Community Health in Nicaragua
July 2026: Solidarity in Action: Nicaragua’s Popular Revolution
October 2026: Salud & Solidaridad: Hands-On Healthcare in Nicaragua
Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition: nicasolidarity.com
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