United States embargo against Nicaragua
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The United States embargo against Nicaragua was declared by then-U.S. President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
on May 1, 1985, and prohibited all trade between the U.S. and Nicaragua. In a strategy similar to the embargo against Cuba, it was intended to undermine the Sandinista government which came to power in 1979. Returned in 2018.


Embargo

The embargo both forbade American products from entering Nicaragua (with exceptions for medicine and other humanitarian goods) and Nicaraguan products from entering the United States. It further banned all Nicaraguan ships from landing in any U.S. port or planes from landing on U.S. soil. Ronald Reagan, on the day he declared the embargo, stated: "I, Ronald Reagan, President of the United States of America, find that the policies and actions of the Government of Nicaragua constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and
foreign policy of the United States The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States of America, including all the bureaus and offices in the United States Department of State, as mentioned in the ''Foreign Policy Agenda'' of the Department of State, are ...
and hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat." Reagan made four demands against Nicaragua during his embargo announcement: # To "halt its export of armed insurrection, terrorism, and subversion in neighboring countries." # To end its military ties to Cuba and the Soviet Union # To cease its "massive arms buildup" # To adhere, in law and practice, to democratic principles and "observance of full political and human rights."


Violations of international law

In 1986 the embargo was found to be in violation of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce, and Navigation between the United States and Nicaragua but not of the
international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
obligation of non-intervention by the
International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...
. The court's ruling states that the embargo was "in breach of obligations under Article XIX of the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between the Parties signed at Managua on 21 January 1956", but that it was "unable to regard such action in the present case as a breach of the customary law principle of non-intervention". This Treaty states that "neither party shall impose restrictions or prohibitions on the importation of any product of the other party, or on the exportation of any product to the territories of the other party." Further, by laying mines in Nicaraguan waters to enforce the embargo, the United States of America also violated "its obligations under customary international law not to use force against another State". The United States was therefore obligated "to cease and to refrain from all such acts" and pay an unspecified amount in reparations to Nicaragua. However, the United States continued the embargo nearly 4 years after the ruling, and did not pay reparations.


Embargo extension

The embargo was extended for six months by
George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...
on November 1, 1989. He later lifted the embargo after five months in March 1990. Currently was reimposed in 2018. Sanctioning the pro-Sandinista regime with the gold sector in 2022 and arms embargo in March 2024.


See also

*
Nicaragua v. United States ''The Republic of Nicaragua v. The United States of America'' (1986) was a case where the International Court of Justice (ICJ) held that the U.S. had violated Public international law, international law by United States and state-sponsored terro ...
*
Sandinista National Liberation Front The Sandinista National Liberation Front (, FSLN) is a socialist political party in Nicaragua. Its members are called Sandinistas () in both English and Spanish. The party is named after Augusto César Sandino, who led the Nicaraguan resistan ...
(FSLN) * Contras


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:United States Embargo Against Nicaragua History of the foreign relations of the United States Economic history of Nicaragua Nicaragua–United States relations Nicaraguan Revolution Embargoes
Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...