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The U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua Laura Dogu said the U.S. government and congress members have "noted which countries support Venezuela," stating that Nicaragua “does not have many friends in Washington, for the support it gives to Venezuela," affirming that congress most likely will vote “in favor of approving the Nica Act,” according to Bolsa de Noticias newspaper.
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The Nica Act refers to the Nicaraguan Investments Conditionality Act, a bill that initially went out of circulation in the House of Representatives when the 2016 congressional session closed. However, it was reintroduced in the U.S. House and Senate by Republican Senators Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, as well as Democrat Albio Sires in April.
Approved by the Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere of the Lower House, the bill is set to be debated by the Committee on Foreign Relations July 27, which if approved will go to the full House for a vote.
The new bill, significantly more stringent than the original, seeks to impose economic sanctions on Nicaragua over alleged authoritarianism and corruption practiced by democratically-elected President Daniel Ortega and restrict the conditions of loans from multilateral organizations.
The Nicaraguan government released a statement in April calling the Nica Act an “ irrational proposal conceived by insensitive minds.”
Dogu did not mince words as she concluded that it is her belief that some members of the U.S. Congress would favor the Nica Act “simply because of the support that Nicaragua is giving to Venezuela.”
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