Nicaragua Solidarity Coalition 12.09.2025: US vs Latin America Sovereignty; Nicaraguan Economy; Remembering Roberto Clemente; Sarah Woodard 2026 Tour
John Perry, Roger Harris: It's not only about Venezuela: Trump intends a wider domino effect One-fifth of the US Navy now sits in the Caribbean, positioned to initiate regime change in Venezuela and beyond. It’s obvious that the US military threats against Venezuela have a wider “regime change” agenda. After Venezuela, in the current US line of fire, is Honduras. Washington’s justification for its military build-up is supposedly to tackle “narcoterrorism,” yet a Libre defeat would risk returning Honduras to the “narcostate” it had become in the decade under US patronage before the previous election in 2021. Also lined up for regime change is, inevitably, Cuba. Another country in Washington’s crosshairs is Nicaragua. Two other left-leaning administrations, Colombia and Mexico, have been subject to Trump’s threats of military strikes. Washington successfully interfered in recent elections in Argentina. US endorsement of the right-wing victory in Ecuador in April was critical after a disputed election. Next month is the second round of Chile’s elections.
Stalin Vladimir Centeno: Roberto Clemente - Hero of Solidarity On December 23, 1972, the earth shook in Managua. Thousands of families were trapped in the rubble as the Somoza dictatorship demonstrated its incompetence in the face of the tragedy. In Puerto Rico, Roberto Clemente listened to the news with great anguish. He had just spent three weeks in Nicaragua during the Baseball World Championship. He immediately began organizing all the aid he could.
Clemente collected medicine, food, and a great deal of clothing, and managed to dispatch three planes, but when he asked about the destination of the aid, his collaborators told him the truth: Somoza’s National Guard was stealing everything. In the early hours of December 31st, Roberto Clemente looked at his wife, “I’m going to go personally. I don’t want them to steal the aid from me.” Ten minutes after the plane took off, it crashed into the Atlantic Ocean a mile and a half from the airport.
Comrade Rosario Murillo, in her constant work to extol the values and qualities of those great human beings who gave their all but are no longer with us, in one of her important New Year’s address remembering Clemente, broadcast live to the Nicaraguan people, said: “Every 31st we pay tribute to him, and each time with greater fervor, because we not only admire and love him, but we also wish to emulate him in his struggle for a humane family, for a supportive and complementary human family.”
John Perry: Trump’s interference invalidates the presidential election in Honduras
An extraordinary catalog of US interference – amounting to an electoral coup – may have destroyed what was already a struggling democracy in Honduras. Trump has succeeded in closing the door to progressive government and his preferred neoliberal candidate – previously trailing in many opinion polls – will be declared president when the count eventually finishes. President Xiomara Castro’s government only partly fulfilled its progressive aims, not least because of the continuing power wielded by the corrupt elite, a judicial and security system still strongly subject to US influence, and social media campaigns which often originated in Washington.
The fact that the November 30 election took place at the height of the US military build-up in the Caribbean was itself a crucial ingredient in determining the outcome. President Trump declared that only if National Party’s Nasry Asfura won would US aid for Honduras continue. Rixi Moncada’s claim in Telesur said huge numbers of the 2.5 million Hondurans who receive remittances from family members in the US were warned that, if Libre won, they would not receive their December payments. The magnitude of the threat is indicated by the fact that remittances account for a quarter of Honduras’s GDP.
America: Crime Index by Country 2025 Mid-Year; It ranks Nicaragua the third safestThe 2025 Global Safety Index shows Nicaragua to be almost as 'safe' as the US and is the safest place in Latin America except for Cuba and Panama.
Nicaragua’s Allocates 65.4% of 2026 Budget to Poverty Reduction The Sandinista government has allocated 65.4 percent of projected revenues in next year’s budget to programs and actions aimed at combating poverty. This represents US$2.99 billion, said Óscar Mojica, Minister of Finance and Public Credit. Social investment and the transportation sector account for 70.8 percent of the total budget. Of the total amount allocated to social investment, the largest share went to the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Education. This reaffirms Nicaragua’s commitment to the well-being of families and the social development of the country. (La Primerisima, 21 October, 2025)
Nicaragua’s Trade Deficit Decreased by 20.2% in the First Nine Months of 2025 Nicaragua’s trade deficit decreased by 20.2% in the first nine months of this year, compared to the same period in 2024, due to a greater increase in exports over imports, the Nicaraguan Central Bank reported. Total exports of goods and free zone goods to September totaled 6,813.9 million dollars, an increase of 15.8% compared to the same period in 2024, due to an increase in exports of goods (27.6%) and in exports from free trade zones (1.6%), he specified. The growth of merchandise exports was supported by the increase in mining exports (49.2%), agricultural exports (43.1%), and the manufacturing industry (4.3%). Meanwhile, imports of goods and free zone goods to September 2025 totaled 8,515.6 million dollars, 6.2% more than those registered to September 2024.
Upcoming Events:
Sarah Woodard 2026 National Speaking Tour To invite her, contact sarah@jhc-cdca.org. Sarah Woodard represents the work of the Jubilee House Community, a nonprofit she helped form in 1979. She has worked the last 32 years in Nicaragua, with the Center for Development in Central America. The JHC-CDCA continues to respond to local needs, seeking resources to help the poor accomplish what they see as their priorities, particularly in the areas of sustainable economic development, organic agriculture, health care, and education. Sarah's tour will both update supporters on the JHC-CDCA's work in Nicaragua and educate those in the global north on the amazing realities developing within Sandinista Nicaragua where both the social and political will are focused on helping the majority of the population, the poorest of the poor.
Delegations to Nicaragua:
Casa Ben Linder Email casabenjaminlinder@gmail.com to apply:
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
Now offering Spanish classes! Fun and practical language classes at Casa Ben Linder - our model teaches 1/2 day class & 1/2 day practice in a community setting.
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