Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega issued a decree on Thursday authorizing Russian troops to conduct “humanitarian aid, rescue and search missions in emergencies,” and “law enforcement” activities in his country.

The Russians were also given permission to establish a permanent presence for the “exchange of experiences and training.”

The Russian Foreign Ministry insisted the troop deployment was “routine,” rather than an effort by Ortega to bring in soldiers from his brutal ally in Moscow to tighten his grip on power.

Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega, pictured in 2018, has been in power since 2007 but is accused of authoritarianism. (AFP)

“We are talking about a routine – twice a year – procedure for the adoption of a Nicaraguan law on the temporary admission of foreign military personnel to its territory in order to develop cooperation in various areas, including humanitarian and emergency responses, combating organized crime and drug trafficking,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday when confirming Moscow’s receipt of the Ortega decree.

Nicaraguan Army soldiers in Russian tanks take part in a military parade marking the 42nd anniversary of the founding of the National Army on Bolivar Chavez Avenue in Managua. (Inti Ocon/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Ortega finds it much easier to win his sham “elections” by arresting his opponents, a predilection he indulged again last month by violently seizing opposition leader Yubrank Suazo. He routinely accuses the opposition of being foreign agents sent by the United States to undermine his rule.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov (R) and Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada Colindres shake hands as they attend a signing ceremony during their meeting in Moscow on July 19, 2021. (SERGEI ILNITSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

Russian soldiers are currently demonstrating their exceptional skill at brutalizing civilians in Ukraine, so they would certainly come in handy if Ortega decides criticism of his regime is getting out of hand. Ortega, a staunch ally and admirer of Russia throughout his unpleasant political career, was the first world leader to enthusiastically support Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

Russian state television did not seem to think Ortega’s degree was “routine” or “temporary.” State television host Olga Skabeyeva on Thursday urged the Kremlin to immediately dispatch heavy weapons and missiles to Nicaragua that could hit targets in the United States. 

“If American missile systems can nearly reach Moscow from the Ukrainian territory, it’s time for Russia to roll out something powerful closer to the American city on a hill,” she said.

Skabeyeva gleefully described Ortega’s decree as “the most unpleasant cherry atop the democratic cake for the United States.”