“Nicaragua Betrayed” Summary— Chapter 17: Nicaragua Now— Color It Red
by Edward Ulrich
News of Interest.TV
February 24, 2011
This chapter explains Nicaragua’s predicament after Anastasio Somoza had left the country. Somoza describes totalitarian Communists now ruling the country, his family newspaper being turned into the official voice of the Sandinistas, freedom of the press no longer existing in Nicaragua, many people fleeing the country, and how Communism is being spread to other Latin American countries.
Following are key points from the chapter:
— The Communist philosophy is to lie, cheat, steal, or kill as long as it furthers the goal of world domination, which is rapidly being achieved. Marxists have a common ideology, whereas free nations each follow their own course while being mostly oblivious that their common denominator is individual liberty.
— President Carter assisted the Soviet Union in taking Nicaragua using the Soviet puppet Fidel Castro. War goods flowed from the Soviet Union to Cuba, Cuba to Panama, Panama to Costa Rica, then overland from Costa Rica to Nicaragua. Today the Communists have in Nicaragua an ideal two-ocean base from which to operate in Central America.
— As soon as the Army of Nicaragua had capitulated, Cuba started direct flights to the Managua airport bringing arms, military equipment, military personnel, and also hundreds of Communist teachers, nurses, and doctors.
— After the Communists won in Nicaragua and were still in a stage of euphoric celebration, President Carter sent $3.5 million in food and medical supplies to the Marxists, and then took $8 million of foreign aid money previously destined for elsewhere to send to the Communist government in Nicaragua. Then Carter called on Mr. Viron Vaky, who previously lied about Somoza misusing earthquake aid, to push for and to receive a $75 million aid bill for Nicaragua with Vaky telling the House Foreign Relations Committee with a straight face that he was “pleased that the Nicaraguan government has re-established an open press.” Vaky previously was stationed in Venezuela where he became close friends with Carlos Andrez Perez.
— Carter has been told by the rebel leadership that “We are Marxists,” and the State Department knows that the Communist strongman of Nicaragua Tomas Borge is a close friend of Fidel Castro. The ruling junta is Marxist and every single position of power is held by a Marxist or Socialist.
— Shortly after the Marxist Government took over in Nicaragua, Senator Edward Zorinsky of Nebraska was sent on a special Air Force jet to make a personal inspection on a “fact finding mission.” Somoza says, “The Senator stayed three days and came back to the United States convinced that Tomas Borge, Hassan, and the other Marxists were OK, and that they should have immediate financial aid. The three day experience, with every minute being controlled by the Marxists, really impressed the Senator from Nebraska. He even suggested that President Carter ‘seriously consider’ providing military assistance.”
— From pages 289 - 290:
When [Senator Edward Zorinsky] returned to Washington, the “erudite” Senator was asked about the more than eight thousand political prisoners being held by the Marxists. These are people who have been imprisoned after the Marxist take-over. He assured the press and his colleagues in the Senate that Thomas Borge, the friend of Castro, had promised him that the new government already had a plan devised to release one hundred of these prisoners each day. That was a lie, and Borge knew it was a lie.
I wonder if the Senator knows that none of these political prisoners were released and that they are now being tried for political crimes. Each man will most likely receive the maximum sentence of thirty years at hard labor. Most of these men, the only crime they committed was being loyal to the Guardia Nacional in which they served. Thus far, only three hundred men have been tried. At the rate the revolutionary tribunal is going, most of these men will die in prison before they are ever tried, not to mention serving a long prison term.
— U.S. intelligence information revealed that the main objective of the new Communist Government was to construct a major support base in Nicaragua which could support the Communist movement throughout Central America, but Senator Zorinsky through the State Department claimed, “The best thing we can do is steer clear of trying to put a particular ideological stamp or imprint on this government.”
— From pages 290 - 291:
It doesn’t take any secret intelligence effort to obtain a copy of the October 17, 1979 issue of “Barricada” — formerly the Somoza owned newspaper, “Novedades.” This newspaper is now the official voice of the Sandinistas! On it’s masthead is a photograph of General Sandino. The headline of that particular issue is as follows: OCTOBER REAFFIRMS THAT THE ROAD OF THE REVOLUTION IS THE ARMED FIGHT. Above that headline was a large photograph of V.I. Lenin and his famous quote, in celebration of the 62nd anniversary of the great Communist revolution of October, 1917.
...
No longer can we afford the luxury of silence. In revealing truths as I am so sincerely trying to do, in speaking of events which heretofore have been whispered but not spoken or written publicly, I realize fully well that I place myself in even more jeopardy. But the people of the United States and the free world must know what is happening, events that sooner or later will effect them.
With my many years in government, with my military training and background, with my close association with governmental leaders throughout the world, and the intelligence information, I come to one startling conclusion: There is a planned and deliberate conspiracy in the United States of America to destroy that Republican form of government. I know that this is being done in the name of peace. Peace to me, the good people of Nicaragua, the solid American citizen and freedom-loving people everywhere, means the absence of armed hostility. To the dedicated Communist, peace has a diametrically opposite meaning. To the Communists, peace clearly means that point in time or space when and there will be no opposition to Communism.
So if a Communist shoots you with a high-powered rifle, don’t worry about it. It was done in the name of peace with a peaceful rifle. If you are shipped off to a slave labor camp in the cold of Siberia, don’t be too concerned, because it’s all in the name of peace. Or, if you happen to be one of those in a barbed wire compound in Nicaragua, exposed to the elements and slowly starving, just remember that you are there to further the cause of peace. To the average American businessman, the dutiful homemaker in Mexico City, or the serious student at the University of Madrid, the foregoing may appear to be an overstatement. Sadly, though, it is true. This is the underlying theme of the worldwide Communist effort.
...
The exodus from Nicaragua is astounding. Thousands upon thousands are fleeing the country. They found, to their horror, that indeed the Sandinistas were Communists. Those business leaders who maintained that they could control the Sandinistas have fled the country, or they are striving to leave. Many of these misguided individuals were placed in jail. The Sandinistas decided they had been robbing the people. These businessmen learned, to their regret, that you can’t do business with the Communists and that the Cubans are taking over.
— A former U.N. official who now resides in Panama reports that there are now over nine thousand Cubans in Nicaragua including doctors, nurses, teachers, technical people, and the military.
— Most high level government assignments have gone to known Communists, such as:
Tomas Borge, Minister of the Interior and an avowed Communist who trained in Cuba and is a personal friend of Fidel Castro;
Jamie Wheelock, Minister of Agriculture, who received guerrilla training in Cuba and is a Communist;
Henry Ruiz, Minister of Planning, who received special education in Moscow and is a Communist;
Humberto Ortega Saavedra, Minister of Defense, who graduated from Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow and is a Communist.
From page 293:
The most gross appointment I have saved until last, because a single line would not suffice. This was the appointment of Nora Astorga to be special prosecutor for the new Marxist government against the political prisoners, which includes eight thousand former members of the Army. These men and woman are being tried at this time, and they are subject to thirty years’ imprisonment at hard labor. Thus far, some three hundred have been tried and very few have been found innocent. I repeat, Nora Astorga is the chief prosecutor and I would like for her name to be remembered. She is a young woman known to all adults and most children in Nicaragua.
Astorga became famous — infamous would be a better word — by setting a sexual trap for General Reynaldo Perez Vega, my number two man in the military, and participating in his atrocious murder.
Unfortunately for General Vega, he had been having an affair with this young woman for some time. For this relationship he would pay with his life. On the night of his murder, General Vega went to Astorga’s house and, on the allegation by Astorga that she had no liquor, he sent his driver and bodyguard away to get some. This, of course, was planned. General Vega had no way of knowing that secluded in the house was a group a Sandinista cohorts of Astorga’s. What happened to Vega should not happen to any human being. First, he was beaten into a bloody pulp. Then his eyes were gouged out, his throat cut, his body burned with cigarettes, and as a final act of torture, his genitals were cut off and stuffed in his mouth. Attending doctors estimated it took several hours for the General to die.
This murderess now dispenses justice in Nicaragua. This female vampire now sits in judgement of those eighty thousand surviving members of the Guardia Nacional of their country.
There were countless other vicious atrocities, but I thought Nora Astorga deserved special attention. It may be recalled that this is the same Nora who came in for special praise by Karen De Young of the “Washington Post.”
...
These people rule Nicaragua with an iron fist. All basic freedoms have been removed from the political, economic, and social scene. And this is only the beginning.
Freedom of the press had always been a basic philosophical belief I hold. In Nicaragua today, even the Chamorro family cannot print the news as they see it. Neither do they have editorial liberty. The February 15, 1980 issue of “American Relations” explained this matter quite well, and I quote:
The condition of the press [referring to Nicaragua] is similarly dismal. The only television station is operated by the government and it has taken an unwavering Marxist line, as does the leading radio station. There are several other smaller radio stations and these are sometimes cautiously critical of the government, but there is nothing like the criticism that was permitted under the Somoza Regime.
Novedades, the former pro-Somoza newspaper, has become Barricada. This official publication of the Sandinista government manifests a consistently Marxist editorial policy. The editor of Barricada is Carlos Fernando Chamorro, son of the late Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, editor of the opposition paper La Prensa. Chamorro appears to be a committed Marxist.
Today in Nicaragua you read what the government wants you to read, and on television you see what they want you to see. One of the first directives from the ruling Marxist junta was to establish block control in every city. This followed the exact plan laid out by Fidel Castro in Cuba. Block captains are appointed and they report on the coming and going of individuals. Further, if they suspect that something suspicious is going on in any home or that a weapon may be hidden, they have the authority to search the premises without a search warrant.
— From page 295:
... To appreciate fully the individual liberty and freedom which existed in Nicaragua prior to the Marxist take-over, one should throughly digest the Sandinistan Defense Committee’s directive in [the Nicaraguan newspaper] La Prensa:
... The CDS must be the eyes and the ears of the revolution. They must at this time be its principal defenders. This control must be carried out as follows:
1. It is necessary to have a map of the suburb where you live.
2. A census must be taken to determine who lives in your block. Each block must make list of its neighbors.
3. If a counter-revolutionary individual lives in that block, we will do the following:
A. Locate his house.
B. Make a file.
C. Have constant vigilance of the identified element to know all of his movements.
4. All members of the CDS must must carry out this vigilance and for that purpose it is important that they establish posts in each block. All night there must be watches by turns, each car that goes by, take down the make, color, and license number. Every time the dog barks, see who goes by and where he is going. Keep watch to know which neighbor arrives late, if he carries packages or is with friends. Watch those houses where cars arrive late at night and take down all details. When you see someone who doesn’t belong in that section, watch him and follow him so that we know what he is doing. We must not let even one movement go by, since it could be the counter-revolutionaries.
5. Regarding the authorization of traveling, migration papers, there must be verification that the person who must approve departures is the person in charge of the Sandinista block committee.
6. All persons must carry a letter from his old Sandinista Block Committee to the new CDS of where he will be living.
7. Be alert to the following:
A. If you have a Somocista neighbor: accuse him.
B. If you see a strange movement in your block: watch it!
C. Carry out your night watches to watch for counter-revolution!
SANDINISTA DEFENSE COMMITTEE (CDS)
MANAGUA, D.N. September 29, 1979.
The foregoing represents the conditions under which the people of Nicaragua live. These people have been accustomed to free movement, free thinking, and free individual activity. Those freedoms no longer exist. Neighbor spies upon neighbor and there is constant fear. There is always a possibility that you will be falsely accused. Then what? You are presumed guilty until you can prove yourself innocent. Furthermore, if the block captain doesn’t like you or suspects that you are unfriendly to the Communist government, any food rations which are due you and your family can by cut off. The Communists know very well that if you control a man’s food supply, you pretty well have him under your control.
— Some two thousand Cuban teachers have been brought to Nicaragua from Cuba, and students are also being transported to Cuba for indoctrination training with parents having little or nothing to say about the matter; and with correspondence between the students and the parents either not being allowed or censored.
— The “Isle of Youth” is an island 250 kilometers south of Havana which is used as a Communist indoctrination fortress. Somoza explains that at the moment there are fifteen thousand students from African nations on the island, as well as some from Nicaragua. Castro’s indoctrination programs are similar to the ones used by the Leftist Jesuit priests.
— Somoza allowed for workers to organize, have collective bargaining, and strike; in contrast the new Communist government has issued a stern warning against strikes of any kind, saying the strikers would face the army.
— Somoza allowed anti-government news and opinions, and full freedom of expression. Somoza says, “The thing that irked the international press and those outside the governmental leaders who didn’t like me, was the fact that the Liberal Party had the support of a vast majority of Nicaraguans. The record will also show that this support did not come by force. Our elections were held in accordance with constitutional requirements are were free.”
— From pages 300 - 301:
... The crime committed against the people of Nicaragua was naked, external aggression and violence. Nicaragua had always been able to conduct its internal affairs in an orderly and just manner. But when other nations, such as the United States, Panama, Costa Rica, Venezuela, and Cuba, decide they will impose their will on the domestic affairs of a country such as Nicaragua, that country is doomed. An international crime was committed against Nicaragua. What crime? I repeat, with external aggression and violence, a free nation is destroyed.
You can’t blame the people of Nicaragua for fleeing their homeland. Those fortunate people who live in an atmosphere of freedom, of stability, of family tradition, and in a governmental climate conducive to that inward satisfaction which comes from permanency, cannot begin to understand the trauma which loss of home and country can mean. Yet, some 150,000 Nicaraguans have fled their country and most of them will never return. They left their homes, their property, their family possessions, and everything. Most of them left the country with one small bag.
Try, if you can, to relate such a drastic decision. To draw a parallel, it’s as though some 15,750,000 people in the United States decided they could not live under conditions which had been thrust upon them, and left their homeland forever. To illustrate this parallel further, in this exodus you would find most of the country’s doctors, lawyers, businessmen, engineers, scientists, and those with technical know-how. After the Communists took Nicaragua, this is what happened.
— A “Conference of Central American Presidents” had scheduled their annual meeting for 1980 in Managua, but all Presidents now decided they didn’t want to attend such a meeting in Nicaragua. Without President Carazo of Costa Rica providing sanctuary for the Sandinistas, it’s doubtful the Communists would have succeeded in taking Nicaragua.
— The Soviet Union Embassy in Costa Rica was opened in 1971 and has been used as a KGB intelligence center. Costa Rica is a small country the size of West Virginia, but its Russian Embassy is large enough to serve a country the size of the United States. Costa Rica’s president at the time Don Pepe Figueres received as much as $5,000,000 to allow the embassy to be opened there. Somoza says, ‘I hope Don Pepe’ enjoyed the money because he did untold damage to all of Central America.”
— Jimmy Carter appointed Mr. Robert White as an Ambassador to El Salvador, who has announced his strong sympathy for the Left.
— Somoza says, “Honduras, Guatemala, and Costa Rica are rapidly being infiltrated by the Communists. Each day there are more killings in Guatemala. There, again, Jesuit priests can be found in the front of the Communist movement. These political priests seem to be omnipresent. They were effective in Nicaragua, and now they are being effective in Guatemala. I’m not saying these priests are not active in Honduras and Costa Rica, because they are. It’s simply that they are devoting more attention to Guatemala at this time.”
— Members of the ruling Communist junta in Nicaragua have proclaimed their Marxist philosophy, and the Sandinista leadership has openly admitted their relationship with Cuba. The Associated Press ran a story July 22, 1979 talking about the head of a Cuban group in Washington named Ramon Sanchez Parodi, saying, “Sanchez, who heads the Cuban Interest Section in Washington, admitted for the first time Cuba was helping anti-government movements in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, but gave no details.”
— A secret CIA document was revealed dated May 2, 1979 that states there was direct intervention by Cuba in Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras, which was 40 days prior to the final Sandinista offensive in Nicaragua. The Chicago Tribune broke the story on June 27, 1979, and Somoza’s government was not handed over to the Communists until the following July 17. The newspaper had a two-line banner across the top of page one: “CUBA, PANAMA, AIDING SOMOZA FOES..”
— From pages 309 - 310:
Nicaragua was the first target in Central America. To their way of thinking, and mine, Nicaragua represented the toughest nut to crack. If Nicaragua, with its strong and reliable ties with the U.S.A., could be taken then logic dictated that the other Central American nations would fall like dominoes. The strategy was sound and it’s working.
...
Today, Nicaragua is a Communist nation. The proud and anti-Communist people of my country are suffering, and the suffering will not abate. For them, there is no tomorrow. Their tomorrow was yesterday. So get your map of Central America and color Nicaragua red. Better make it blood red, too!
Purchase the book “Nicaragua Betrayed” from Amazon.com.
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