Russia and China are making political inroads in Central America

Last year, China expelled Taiwan from the Central American Parliament, and now Russia has won a seat as permanent observer in this regional institution.

Russia’s incorporation is a present danger and a future threat to peace, democracy and security, not only for Central America, but for the entire hemisphere.

The Russian geopolitical move happened a year after China landed in the parliament, expelling Taiwan from its long-standing presence in this political forum. Are these isolated events, or are China and Russia pushing a joint strategy to win geopolitical ground in Central America?

Since Daniel Ortega returned to power in 2007, the Nicaraguan regime has been Russia’s gateway to the region. Numerous Central American multinational bodies are in the geopolitical crosshairs of the Eurasian bear.

In 2015, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration signed a trade financing agreement with Russia’s Interkommerz Bank, ostensibly to stimulate international trade operations between Russia and the region. The agreement, under the International Trade Facilitation Initiative, granted a credit guarantee to the Interkommerz Bank to promote the export and import of goods and services between Central America and Russia.

Since 2012, Nicaragua has coordinated regional anti-drug courses for police officers from all over Central America with the participation of specialists from Russia.

Nicaragua also established a Russian military training center, which in 2024 had sanctions laid against it by the U.S. Treasury Department. The center is a subdivision of the Ministry of Interior of the Russian Federation, and its aim is to repress civil society and pulverize civil liberties.

Since 2005, Russia has been a permanent observer to the Conference of Central American Armed Forces. The regional body includes the heads of the militaries of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Panama and Costa Rica are not part of this entity.

Since 2018, Russia has tried to join the Central American Integration System but has not been able to. Although Russia initially agreed to join, it was never made official; after the invasion of Ukraine, the country’s presence was seen as a threat. In April 2023, Daniel Ortega invited Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to celebrate his entry into the organization, but 48 hours earlier, Guatemala and Costa Rica had slammed the door in Putin’s face.

Russia was unable to join as a permanent observer there, but its its arrival at the Central American Parliament is serious. Putin has managed to forge alliances with many Central American politicians and governments, in a region characterized by strongmen and weak institutions.

In the last year, China and Russia have freely entered the Central American Parliament hand-in-hand with the Nicaragua’s tyranny — three countries that are enemies of freedom, democracy and human rights.

Today more than ever, Central America runs the risk of becoming a chess piece of war-like extra-regional powers. In a context of wars and rumors of wars, alliances with Russia and China threaten regional peace and stability.

The U.S. must strengthen its leadership in Central America and not underestimate the presence of dangerous superpowers in its backyard. Nicaragua is also opening doors to Iran, the Taliban and North Korea — a geopolitical threat that needs to be monitored, investigated and sanctioned.

The U.S and Central America have a very strong relationship, with shared values that need to be defended, protected and promoted, especially in a context of global war. Democracy, security and prosperity are at stake.

Arturo McFields Yescas is a former Nicaraguan ambassador to the Organization of American States, an exiled journalist and a former member of the Norwegian Peace Corps.