Commander Daniel welcomes President Ebrahim Raisi to Nicaragua (transcript)

Below is a transcript of the remarks by President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, and President of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi in Managua during the second leg of the Iranian president’s tour of three Latin American nations.

President Comandante Daniel
and Compañera Rosario
Vice President of Nicaragua
welcome His Excellency Ebrahim Raisi
President of the Islamic Republic of Iran
June 13, 2023

Words of Daniel

Beloved Nicaraguan Brothers and Sisters; beloved Youth, Divine Treasure; beloved young people, representing hundreds of orchestras
Young people who have been organizing throughout the country thanks to the Revolution.

These are signs from God, and we share with the People of Iran whose President is visiting us here in Nicaragua today, we share that deep faith in the God of all Times, the God of all Triumphs, the God of all Victories, in the God of Peace.

Here with us, Brother President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi. Welcome to Nicaragua!

These are the signs of Heaven, the signs of God, because it is no coincidence that the Revolution in Iran triumphed in 1979, with Ayatollah Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini, and that the Sandinista Revolution triumphed in 1979. That is why we have always said and repeated that we are twin Revolutions, with deep roots in defense of our Identity, in defense of the well-being of our Peoples, and in permanent struggle against the empires, which throughout history 

have tried to take over these lands, these peoples, these continents, in Latin America and the Caribbean; in North America, the same; in Africa, in Asia, in Eurasia.

That is, they have always wanted to dominate the world, not for good, but for evil. It is the so-called European “Civilization” that in past centuries acted the most brutal way in which human beings, children, entire families can be treated.

Slavery is the best example of what deep down those who say they respect human rights really are, they are the ones who trafficked in slaves and turned human beings into merchandise, moving them from those regions and then across to Europe to then transfer that enslaved force to these lands, to these continents that were being conquered using the force of the Cross and the Sword, which was a true blasphemy against Christ.
Yes, they used the Cross and the Sword to steal the lands of our indigenous ancestors, rob them, trying to steal their Identity, trying to steal their Soul, their Heart. But, with the same fortitude with which the Cacique Nicarao and the Cacique Diriangén dealt the first great blow to the invaders led by Gil González, 500 years ago, on April 5th in perfect coordination between Cacique Nicarao and Cacique Diriangén, they managed to ambush the Spanish who thought they had already managed to subjugate our Native Peoples. And they were defeated and had to withdraw from Nicaragua at that time.

And in these lands the rebellious spirit of the first anti-imperialist Heroes of these lands was sown, when the names of countries in the region had not yet been invented, they were times in which these lands became subject to those people to whom the monarchs distributed them, lands the monarchs handed over to the conquerors. They were giving away what was not theirs!

The European empires, all without exception, were great aggressors and exploiters of Peoples in different regions of the Earth, and the truth is that this practice has not disappeared, because it is the very essence of those Empires, and still they want to offer lessons in human rights, lessons in democracy, they want to give lessons to our Peoples, but our Peoples have that force that emanates through time from our chieftains.

Then came Yankee expansionism, and the English disputed territories from the Spanish; and in their eagerness, the United States, through a group of racists, slaveholders, in the years 1852 to 1854, looked towards Nicaragua.

In Nicaragua there were no large amounts of gold as in other countries in the region, there was no great wealth in Nicaragua, it was a very small population, a very small territory, but when the conquistadors began to arrive, they discovered that there was a natural passage through which a transit route could be opened between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, and North American businessmen, shipowners, of course very much related to the Government of the day, came and made agreements with the sell-outs who were fighting over the government in Nicaragua, and for what? To open up a transit route.

In other words, the United States opened a transit route in Nicaragua in those years, because the conquistadors had found that there was a natural route across Nicaragua, the San Juan River, the Great Lake of Nicaragua, and through there we then had the Caribbean joined with the Pacific zone via those two spaces, the river and the lake, and what was left was just a small stretch on the Isthmus of Rivas, 12, 14 kilometers, so that the transit across Nicaragua could then operate; a transit that in no way benefited the Nicaraguan people, bringing instead, humiliation, pain, blood and fire.
And why was it so desirable and so urgent for American businessmen, Vanderbilt’s companies? Cornelio Vanderbilt, a tycoon of the time, came up with the idea of organizing the Transit Company, and this he agreed with the sell-outs who gave him the right to organize the Transit Company.

And what was the Transit Company’s business at a time when the Gold Rush had begun in the United States and thousands of Americans were traveling across the entire territory from the East Coast to the West Coast, in difficult conditions, having to cross deserts and everything else?

Thus, the US shipowner found it was safer and even faster to make the journey by sea from the East Coast of the United States, starting with ships of great capacity at the time and transporting passengers to the East Coast of Nicaragua, disembarking them, and then embarking them on smaller ships able to transit the lake and the river, and on the other side another large ship was waiting to take the passengers to the West Coast of the United States.

Thousands of Americans traveled that route. And what did that mean for Nicaragua? What it meant for Nicaragua was a tragedy, because in that situation a group of US mercenaries organized supposedly to support the government that had given the concession to Vanderbilt. But there were already other US companies trying to contest the passage.

And then, in those circumstances, a US slave owner and lawyer, William Walker, came along and called elections, he counted the votes himself and appointed himself President of Nicaragua; and the US Ambassador participated in that ceremony. But the Nicaraguan people united, those who loved their nation, those who loved their Dignity, and they carried the fight against the filibusters from the United States who were better armed, better provisioned and in the end these were defeated by a People fighting with their Soul, with their Heart.
Here we can never forget the feat of Andrés Castro, a simple Nicaraguan who was defending his position, and a gringo, a Yankee hurled himself towards him with his rifle, but Andrés grabbed a stone and knocked him down with the stone.

The years have passed but with the passing of the years the United States launched itself with even greater voracity against Nicaragua. And what were they looking for? Control of Nicaragua, so that no other country could develop that Canal with Nicaragua.

They made the Panama Canal, but already now the Panama Canal, even taking into account its expansion, is really lacking, and another transit route is needed. That is why, when we have discussed the matter here in Nicaragua and we have worked to develop the Canal, immediately comes the campaign of the forces opposed to the Revolution, the US government and others, who start up their offensive to try and prevent that project from getting under way.
I mentioned to the President that Nicaragua has really been a country attacked like no other in Latin America and the Caribbean, by invasions of US troops, the United States Army, always seeking to dominate Nicaragua so as to have control of that Canal route. They see, they know that this Canal is necessary but they do not want the Nicaraguan people to own the Canal, which is, let’s say, the resource, the wealth of Nicaragua, and which has turned the United States into a fierce enemy of Nicaragua, because they do not want to lose control of Nicaragua. However, here the People decide, the People decide, and the People defeated the Yankees in 1855-1856, and Walker ran away and had to send for US ships to be brought from the United States, to rescue him.

Then came another stage of opening, of Revolution, led by General José Santos Zelaya, against whom, because he chose a policy independent of the United States, the United States began to conspire and used US agents to start provoking acts of terrorism here in Nicaragua, and here in Nicaragua, they managed to blow up a ship.

So President Zelaya ordered the arrest of the people who had blown up the ship, whoever it was, and among other people arrested there turned out to be two Americans. And the Yankee government made threats. But what Zelaya then did was to apply the law the same as they apply it in the United States, that is, since the two terrorists confessed, they were shot.

Then came another invasion of the Yankees here in Nicaragua to defeat Zelaya, but always the People fought back, and General Benjamin Zeledón gave battle against the Yankee troops who landed and invaded our territories to impose a puppet government.

Later, our General Sandino confronted the invaders, and they couldn’t defeat him and they had to abandon Nicaragua, they had to leave Nicaragua. And in the list that they have in the United States of the defeats the United States has suffered, there they have the defeat dealt to them by Sandino.

Well, I’m not going to do more than cite these fundamental elements of our history that explain why it was that the banner of Sandino, the banner of Andrés Castro, of José Dolores Estrada, the banner of Zeledón, the banner of Cacique Diriangén and of Cacique Nicarao, entered victoriously on July 19th with the Triumph of the Sandinista Revolution.

Today, beloved Brother President, we welcome you, your Delegation, Brother Hossein Amirabdollahian, Minister of Foreign Affairs; General Mohammad Reza Gharaei Ashtiani, Minister of Defense and Logistics of the Armed Forces; Brother Bahram Eynollahi, Minister of Health, Treatments and Medical Education; Brother Javad Oyí, Minister of Oil; Brother Mohammad Mehdi Mofateh, Deputy of the Islamic Consultative Assembly; Brother Mohammad Jamshidi, Deputy Head for Political Affairs of the Office of the President of the Republic; and the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Nicaragua, Mr. Majid Salehi.

And we welcome the First Lady of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Dr. Jamileh-Sadat Alamolhoda.

And on this day, this afternoon, at this historic site in the Plaza of the Non-Aligned Countries, in honor of General Omar Torrijos, who managed to rescue the Panama Canal, we pay tribute to him and also to our Heroes and Martyrs, to all the Heroes and Martyrs of Iran, and in particular to General Qasem Soleimani, who was assassinated by Yankee imperialism when he was fighting terrorism, while the Yankees encouraged terrorism, and the Yankees calmly accepted that they committed that crime.
But that does not bend the Iranian People and does not frighten the Peoples of the world, there was a condemnation of that crime, the world’s Peoples have condemned that crime; and on this day, welcoming the President of Iran, we observe a minute of silence for the Martyr of the Islamic Republic of Iran, General Qasem Soleimani.

Long live the Martyr of Iran,
General Qasem Soleimani!

Hurrah! Hurrah! Hurrah!

Long live the People of Iran!

Sandino Lives, the Struggle Goes On!

A Free Nation or Death!

Words of Comrade Ebrahim Raisí, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran

In the Name of God, thanks be to God, may the Peace of God be upon our Prophet and all his Family.

I would like to thank my beloved Brother President Daniel Ortega for inviting the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, so that myself and the delegation that accompanies me have the opportunity to visit the brotherly and friendly country of Nicaragua.

I pay tribute and my respects to the National Heroes of the brotherly and friendly country of Nicaragua; I also pay my respects to the heroic, patient, resilient and combative People of Nicaragua.

The Islamic Revolution in Iran triumphed in February 1979 and at the same time coincided too with the triumph of the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua. Certainly, the struggle and effort of our Peoples during those Revolutions influenced one another.

Our people know very well the struggles, efforts and movement of the Nicaraguan people. You fought against imperialism, and you triumphed. You fought against the plunder, the illegitimate demands and desires of imperialism, and you triumphed. During all those years you resisted against the conspiracies of imperialism, and you triumphed.

Ruhollah Khomeini, the Founder of the Islamic Republic of Iran, taught our People: By fulfilling two Principles one can always succeed: Trust in God and trust in ourselves, in our abilities.

And the great People of Iran knew very well the conspiracies, the tricks and the plans of the imperialist enemies, and resisted in the face of all their conspiracies, resisted during the eight years of the war imposed on them, and triumphed.

There is a lot of similarity between the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the Sandinista Revolution of the People of Nicaragua. Movement in search of Justice, Independence and Freedom are the principles that both Revolutions have in common. The People of Iran wanted their whole destiny and all their social, economic, political interactions to be based on their religious principles.

The system of the Islamic Republic of Iran is a democratic system, during the 44 years of the Islamic Republic of Iran it has always been the popular vote that has decided the authorities of all government bodies.

Those in the West and in the United States pretending they are democratic and defend democracy, act to the contrary 

and do not respect countries and governments that are always elected with the popular vote of their Peoples. They lie about their claims to democracy and human rights. We have witnessed many examples of their violations of human rights in different parts of the world, perpetrated by the United States and by world imperialism.

The United States wanted to paralyze our People through threats and sanctions, but our People did not paralyze their progress, turning threats and sanctions into opportunities, and through those opportunities they achieved great progress in different areas.

Today, the Iranian nation is an advanced nation and has made great progress in different areas despite the enemy’s coercive measures. This shows that if a People has a firm will, there is no way the diabolical and imperialist Powers can stop it.
I would like to say to you, to the resilient and heroic People of Nicaragua and to the Brothers of the Government of Nicaragua, that, as our Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini says, Victory can be achieved through two principles: the first is to believe in God, to have Faith in God, as you mentioned very well, Mr. President Ortega, everything comes from God; and the second principle is to have hope in the future.

The enemy wants to disappoint the Revolutionary Peoples. But the Peoples can be sure that a New World Order is going to be formed and is being formed in favor of the resistance of the Peoples and against imperialist interests.

The United States and the imperialists created the terrorist group Daesh, and the Hero of the fight against terrorism was the Martyr General Qasem Soleimani, killed by the United States. We have the honor of being those who have resisted and fought against terrorism, and we believe that they have earned the hatred of the Peoples for pretending to fight terrorism, but murdered a Hero who fought against terrorism all his life.

Since the beginning of the Victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, there has been an excellent fraternal relationship with our Brothers of the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua. Our relationships are not the usual, traditional relationships, for they are completely strategic relationships. We want to increase and deepen our relations in all areas, political, economic, cultural, and in all fields, especially in the field of science and technology.

I would like to express my infinite gratitude for the warm welcome by President Daniel Ortega, Vice President Murillo, the presidents of the judicial power and of the National Assembly of Nicaragua, and all the authorities of the different institutions of the Nicaraguan Government and the Nicaraguan People.
I am going to conclude my remarks because it is time to pray, we are going to fulfill the prayer, and also continue our conversations and negotiations with President Ortega and his work team. And I ask Almighty God, to help us first to know what our Duty is, and then to fulfill it well.

Finally, I would like to pay tribute again to all the Heroes and Martyrs of Nicaragua who during these 44 Years have fought for their Dignity, for the Dignity of their People, and also to pay tribute and my respects to the Heroic, Noble and Resilient People of Nicaragua. Thank you very much.

By Kawsachun News