Nicaragua highlights accomplishments

While most of us are concerned with Nicaragua's territorial and maritime disputes with its neighbors, the Foreign Minister of Nicaragua took the time to highlight his country's progress on social and economic issues during the recent United Nations meeting in New York City.

Among the highpoints, Mr. Santos noted that the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) recognized the country’s “remarkable and exceptional progress” to ensure food security and reduce the prevalence of undernourishment.

UN Women places Nicaragua among the first countries in the world with the highest percentage of women in government positions. Women occupy more than half of the positions in the Executive and Judiciary Branches, as well as in Municipal Courts. Some 42 per cent of female deputies are in the Judiciary Branch.

Nicaragua has also prioritized enrolment of children in school, reducing maternal mortality rates, and combating HIV/AIDS.

Nicaragua continues to perform well when it comes to tackling poverty, inequality and hunger. Its international relations are a bit schizophrenic cozying up to the Latin American left and a variety of unsavory actors throughout the world while simultaneously working with the US and European nations on trade and anti-narcotics issues, among others. However, there remain serious questions about the country's (well, maybe Daniel's) commitment to democratic procedures (elections, media freedom) and corruption. For all the hyperventilating that goes on about US policy towards leftist governments in Latin America, no one really seems to get worked up about US relations with Nicaragua unless we're talking about someone running for mayor of New York and the 1980s.

Congressman Moakley: From South Boston to El Salvador

Maurice T. Cunningham has a post on the late Joe Moakley, a Democratic Member of Congress from Massachusetts in Joe Moakley’s Journey: From South Boston to El Salvador on a blog hosted by a number of Massachusetts political scientists.

Among his constituents were liberal activists and it was a visit from Jamaica Plain constituents seeking his help for El Salvadoran refugees at risk of being deported that propelled the man from Southie into foreign affairs. Upon hearing their story of violence against innocent civilians, Moakley asked his aide (now congressman) Jim McGovern to check it out. When McGovern reported back that tales of horror were indeed true, Moakley told his visitors that he would help the Salvadoran refugees stay in America. The visitors left somewhat stunned by his immediate commitment. Moakley was to devote years to securing safety for the refugees.

In 1989 six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her daughter were murdered by units of the military. The Salvadoran government engaged in a cover-up and Moakley was charged by the House speaker to investigate. Moakley traced the murders to the highest reaches of the government. His work led to a reduction in U.S. aid to the right wing government and eventually to a peace accord. He then worked toward relief assistance for the poor in El Salvador, suggesting that the U.S. spend at least a fraction of what we contributed to destroy the country toward rebuilding it.

Friends of El Salvador will be familiar with the important role that Representative Moakley played investigating the murder of the Jesuits at the UCA. I remember heading the Congressman speak in 1997 at the UCA in San Salvador. He was humble and did not feel all that comfortable with the strong ovation that the audience had given him. They had suffered so much during the war and had worked so hard to bring about its peaceful resolution through negotiations. At the same time, he was very forceful in his condemnation of the US and Salvadoran governments stonewalling of the investigation into the Jesuits' murders.

What I've never been clear on is Congressman Moakley's relationship with El Salvador before he was asked to investigate the Jesuits' murders. In A Question of Conscience: The Murder of the Jesuit Priests in El
Salvador, Congressman Moakley gives the "Who me? Why would they ask this Southie to investigate a bunch of murders in some country that I'd never heard of?" The response was that he hadn't formed an opinion on the controversial role of the US in El Salvador and that he had the type of personality to get through the bull**** from all those who had and were likely to throw up road blocks in his way. At other times, however, it appears that Congressman Moakley knew much more about El Salvador given his work with refugees who had fled the violence and ended up living in his district.

You can read more about the late congressman in Joe Moakley’s Journey: From South Boston to El Salvador. Maybe this book has the answer to the congressman's interest and knowledge about El Salvador prior to the Jesuits' murders.

Guatemalan massacre suspect goes to trial in California

The trial against former Guatemalan second lieutenant Jorge Sosa began last week in a California courtroom. Sosa moved to the US in 1985 but once his request for asylum was denied, he continued northwards to Canada. He then returned to the US, married a US citizen and became a US citizen himself. He is charged with lying on his immigration paperwork because he did not disclose his involvement in the Guatemalan army. If Sosa is convicted of making false statements and obtaining citizenship unlawfully, he could be sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Sosa's arrest and trial are making news because he is accused of having led the slaughter at Dos Erres in Guatemala in 1982. Approximately 200 men, women, and children were killed during the attack. The soldiers were allegedly looking for stolen weapons when they entered the village but upon not finding any, they proceeded to rape the women and kill all the witnesses. All the soldiers were forced to participate so that they were all equally guilty.

I've only read a few of the stories this week but the media needs to add a line or two about US support for Guatemalan forces, sometimes just stronger wording. They also need to explain that this massacre was one of hundreds carried out between 1981 and 1983. Dos Erres might have been one of the larger and uglier massacres, but it was not unique by any stretch of the imagination.

I was also surprised that neither this National Post nor this AP article found it relevant to mention the recent trial against Efrain Rios Montt in Guatemala. He was convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity before a questionable constitutional court ruling threw out his conviction and sent the case back to an earlier period in time. They had a perfect opportunity to do so as several news stories mentioned that Guatemalan prosecutors are interested in charging Sosa. They could have simply added a line or two connecting these prosecutions.

The US comes out looking way too clean in these articles. The US is portrayed as vigorously pursuing a bad guy who committed some dastardly deeds and then dared to try to seek refuge in the US which is, uh, not quite accurate.