Nicaragua Congratulates Grenada on Its Independence Anniversary

On Tuesday, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo sent a letter to Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell regarding the 50th anniversary of Grenada's independence which is celebrated on February 7.

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"On behalf of the people and government of reconciliation and national unity of the Republic of Nicaragua, and on our own behalf, we express our most sincere and warmest congratulations to you, to your government and to the brother people of Grenada, on the special occasion of commemorating the 50th Anniversary of Independence," they said.

"As we remember together with you this solemn date of patriotic pride, liberty, sovereignty and self-determination, we reiterate from our Nicaragua, always blessed and always free, our firm commitment to continue strengthening the bonds of friendship, fraternity, solidarity and cooperation that unite our peoples and governments."

Grenada achieved independence from the British crown in 1974, a year in which a period of political instability began. In 1979, however, New Jewel Movement leader Maurice Bishop inaugurated an era of unprecedented prosperity.

The Bishop administration set important social policies and a literacy campaign that allowed the learning of Grenada Creole for the first time in schools.

With the help of the Cuban revolution and its doctors, Bishop also implemented a health system that increased the people's well-being. This social experiment, however, was not well received by Washington. 

The United States used its influence to block loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB). Later, in October 1983, Washington and its regional allies implemented "Operation Urgent Fury" to invade Grenada.