Source: RT en Español
What it’s about: Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega gave an interview to Rt en Español on the current political crisis affecting Nicaragua. In the 20 minute interview, Ortega outlines the history of United States intervention in Nicaragua, and how the U.S. has constantly tried to undermine the Sandinista government—claiming the current crisis is an example of U.S. attempts to do so. The interview also covers the creation of the Organization of American States (OAS) working group on Nicaragua, college students and youth at the forefront of protests, and what Ortega believes led to the ongoing crisis in the country.
What’s misleading about it: This interview is misleading for a number of reasons. First, the interview opens with correspondent Julia Muriel Dominzain noting the ways the international media has covered the situation in Nicaragua—referring to it as a crisis, manifestation or repression—but that in order to truly understand what is happening in the country, one must consider the accounts of President Ortega. This precedent of undermining the media’s credibility related to the situation in Nicaragua continues when Dominzain asks what Ortega will do to regain the confidence of the public who lost confidence in his government after consuming media reports on the situation in the country.
Second, in addressing the total number of deaths from the protests and the difference in the figures by the OAS and the government, Ortega said the organizations added murders due to common crimes into their calculations. Lastly, throughout the interview, Ortega insists the U.S. and civil society organizations are behind the civic unrest with the purpose of undermining his government. When discussing the role of college students in protests, Ortega was quick to say that although a few students were the first to protest, “the people who stood out for their aggressiveness were some women, well known women, who directed NGO’s.” He did not list their names or the names of their organizations. At no point in the interview does Muriel Dominzain push back against Ortega’s misleading and false claims.