ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes U.S. foreign policy toward Nicaragua since the return of President Daniel Ortega in 2007. Through a review of U.S. policy toward Central America in the post-9/11 era, I demonstrate how the Trump administration’s policies toward Nicaragua since 2017 by and large represent a continuation of pre-existing U.S. policy priorities with regard to trade, immigration, and democracy promotion. Drawing on statements by U.S. legislators, members of the Trump administration, and the Organization of American States, this chapter also shows how the anti-government protests and ensuing state violence which began in April 2018 provided an impetus for increased political and economic pressure – both by the U.S. government and the international community – on the Ortega regime. Nevertheless, I argue that the U.S. government’s unilateral approach to addressing the current crisis in Nicaragua through economic coercion rather than regional diplomacy is counterproductive to achieving long-term political and economic stability in the region.
