Cuba Slams US, Expresses Solidarity With Nicaragua Against NICA Act

The Cuban government has condemned the United States for its Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act (NICA Act), a bill that is set to impose economic and financial sanctions on Nicaragua.

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Cuba's Deputy Foreign Minister Rogelio Sierra called the Act a “coercive, unilateral, irrational and harmful” action, adding that it is another sign of U.S. intervention in the region.

"The approval of the legislation on October 3 in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress violates the sovereignty of that Central American country and the most elementary norms of International Law," he said.

The Act seeks to impose conditions on Nicaragua when accessing financial loans from international institutions or the United States.

The bill, promoted by the country that funded far-right paramilitaries to overthrow the popular revolutionary Sandinista government in the 1980's, launches accusations at the government of Daniel Ortega for “violations of human rights and retrogression of democracy.”

It was approved last week by 25 lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives, and will now move on to the U.S. Senate for debate.

On Wednesday, Nicaragua responded to the act by slamming the United States for violating its sovereignty.

Nicaragua finds itself “faced with regressive, interventionist, and disrespectful positions on the part of certain North American congresspeople that still have not overcome conflicts and interests that are inconsistent with the will and peace of the people,” the Sandinista-led government’s statement said.

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On Friday, the Permanent Conference of Political Parties of Latin America and the Caribbean, COPPPAL, a regional body comprised of 60 progressive parties on the continent, issued a statement condemning the act.

The group called on called on leaders in the U.S. to treat Nicaragua and the rest of the Latin America with respect, which they said "have the right, like them, to define the how they organize their societies."

Just a day earlier, Venezuela had also strongly condemned the proposed bill, with its Foreign Ministry recognizing the “sustained economic progress” that the Nicaraguan people have achieved under the leadership of the Sandinista government.