Nicaragua as a Russian military base? The opposition warns

Felix Maradiaga warns that his country “is becoming a Russian military base.” He is one of 222 opposition activists who were stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship three years ago and subsequently escaped to the United States. The agreement in question, aimed at deepening military cooperation between Nicaragua and Russia, was signed in Moscow in September 2025. On Wednesday, the document was ratified by the Russian Federation Council, the upper house of parliament. Maradiaga stated that the new agreement “disrupts the balance of power in Central America and constitutes a direct violation of the 1995 Framework Treaty on Democratic Security in Central America.”

The opposition is calling on the governments of Central American countries to respond by expelling Nicaragua from the Central American Integration System (SICA). According to Maradiaga, the agreement will turn Nicaragua into a satellite state of Vladimir Putin and will be used as a foothold for the Kremlin’s interests in the Western Hemisphere. Under the agreement, both parties are to exchange experience in implementing military doctrines, developing armed forces personnel, combating international terrorism and piracy, and cooperating in the fields of radiological, chemical, and biological defence.