Nicaragua’s Government Support of Human Trafficking is Manipulating American Politics

Over the last 12 months, over 1,100 unrecorded charter flights have arrived in Managua, Nicaragua, carrying more than 80,000 people from North Africa, the Middle East, India, and China, with hopes of reaching the United States. Border incidents spiked in early 2024 as Russian state media, propagandists, and their proxies amplified stories about the southwestern border crisis.

A months-long investigation, including interviewing victims, uncovered a complex web of propagandists, government officials, charter flight executives, and human traffickers selling hope of a better life in the United States via Nicaragua. What many find on their road to the southwest border is crippling debt to human smugglers, a dangerous journey through Guatemala and Mexico, and no guarantee of entry or asylum when they reach the United States.

Nicaragua’s involvement started in 2021, but in the spring of 2023, French language immigration ads targeting the citizens of Africa’s coup belt in the Sahel exploded, promising easy access to the United States. Some of the ads are financially backed by self-described Stalinist Luc Michel and his Rossosphere network and other Russian and pro-Russian sources. The social media influence campaign worked, fueling a 500% increase in United States Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) encounters with African nationals in 2023 that continues today.

According to CBP data, through June 2024, 54.5% of all encounters at the southwest land border of the United States were with citizens from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. In 2014, it was 96.2%. Some of the shift is due to a sharp increase in the number of Haitians and Cubans attempting to cross the border, who are also part of the Nicaraguan pipeline.

Lost in the CBP 2023 data, an estimated 60,000 people from African nations were arrested at the southwest border, a 500% increase from 2022. Over one-third of those arrested from July to December 2023 were from Senegal.

US: Large numbers of single adult men from all over the world are crossing illegally into Border Patrol’s Tucson, AZ sector.

Our team shot this video in Lukeville, AZ, where men from Africa have been crossing daily, Bill Melugin reports.

Hundreds from Senegal have crossed pic.twitter.com/3ogEhjAbQp

— Matt Davio (@MissTrade) September 14, 2023

A shadowy network of travel agents, tour companies, and charter airlines, supported by advertising on WhatsApp and Telegram and social media influencers on TikTok and Twitter (also known as X), charge migrants $10,000 to $100,000 for transport to Nicaragua, then a taxi ride to Honduras, and overland travel by handlers to the United States-Mexico border.

Changes in Nicaraguan visa laws and the selling of special immigration visas by the Daniel Ortega regime have turned Mangua into what some activists call a hub for human trafficking.

Russia and its alliance of nations have weaponized immigration in Europe, with Poland and Finland bearing the brunt of attempted border crossings. Moscow has learned that anti-immigration sentiment is a hot-button issue for pro-Russian isolationists and uses information warfare to amplify fear and misinformation, with increasingly violent results. In 2023, investigators in Europe found that Moscow went further and was directly involved in funneling migrants from Northern Africa and the Middle East to the Polish border through Belarus and the Finnish border.

Nicaragua’s Weaponization of U.S. Immigration is Profitable

Passports from African nations are among the weakest in the world, requiring travelers from a majority of countries to apply for visas before arrival. In late 2021, Nicaraguan Dictator Daniel Ortega loosened visa requirements for Cubans, Haitians, and several African nations and made further changes in early 2023. Despite the formal immigration policies, a program was created to sell visas at Nicaragua’s points of entry to immigrants arriving on charter flights. Their information is undocumented, and they don’t receive a passport stamp.

Called irregular migrants, upon arrival, they pay between $150 and $250 in cash to Nicaragua’s General Directorate of Migration and Immigration (GDMI). The funds are classified as “other service fees” and “fines” by the Ortega regime and netted $43.5 million in 2023, almost 65% of the income collected by the GDMI. Reviewing public records from 2021 and 2022, the revenue from “other service fees” grew by 62% in 2023.

Migrants have been instructed to hire a taxi driver, who will charge around $50 for the 5-hour drive to the Honduras border or are met by handlers. The drivers who wait for the migrants are authorized to access the airport and use the same taxi stands for tourist and business travelers. They gather as the charter flights arrive, with some walking outside the airport, holding up the pictures and names of the irregular migrants they’ve been pre-hired to transport.

People from Africa and the Middle East pay agencies between $5,000 and $10,000 for charter flights from Dakar, Dubai, Madrid, and Casablanca and another $3,000 to $5,000 for the journey to the U.S. border. Citizens of India and China, which make up a much smaller percentage of immigrants, are charged as much as $96,000 while receiving a “white glove” experience. The common experience between them all is the charter flight to Managua.

The human trade isn’t limited to the Middle East and Africa. Through October 2023, charter flight operators flew over 35,000 people out of Haiti and up to 20,000 from Cuba, charging $3,000 to $5,000 for the short flight to Managua. On October 31, 2023, the Port-au-Prince government banned all charter flights to Nicaragua, leaving thousands stranded and in debt. Before the ban, 60% of Haitians arriving at the Southwest border connected through Nicaragua.

In June, the U.S. government accused Ortega and his wife of putting in place “migration policies that have introduced opportunities for migrant smuggling and trafficking networks to exploit migrants for economic gain and fuel dangerous, irregular travel towards the U.S. southwest border.”

Fear Sells Plane Tickets and Funds Human Smugglers

The cheaper route for migration to the United States is via flights to Brazil, Columbia, and Venezuela. However, this route requires a 130-kilometer crossing of the Darien Gap. The region divides Panama and Columbia and is made up of mosquito-infested swamps, rainforests, and steep mountains. Less than 9,000 people live in the region, which has no infrastructure, not even primitive roads. The terrain isn’t the only danger. Human traffickers, cartels, kidnappers, and robbers operate throughout the gap, targeting people moving north.

In May 2023, the migrant route through Managua became so popular that the Nicaraguan government hired a Dubai-based company to train Nicaragua’s civil aviation officials to create and manage immigration procedures for the charter flights.

El Salvador was also a growing port of entry for migrants seeking access to the United States. In October 2023, the country added a $1,130 per person tax on travelers arriving from 57 countries, mostly in Africa, to deter irregular immigration.

Russia’s 40-Year History with Dictator Daniel Ortega and a Renewed Relationship

Ortega has opposed the United States since the 1980s when he led the Soviet-backed Sandinistas against the United States-backed Contra rebels. He and his wife, Rosario Murillo, have ruled Nicaragua as dictators since 2007 and embraced Russia in 2015. In 2016, Moscow donated 50 T-72 main battle tanks, with Nicaragua’s neighbors expressing concern over the import of heavy weapons. In 2017, Russia built a GLONASS satellite navigation ground station and, in 2022, established a small permanent military base.

Also, in 2022, the U.S. State Department imposed sanctions on three Nicaraguan entities for “repressive actions” and a failure to decrease human smuggling through the country. One of the sanctioned companies is a Russian training center operating in Managua since October 2017 that enables anti-democratic behavior and repression. A press release from the Treasury Department said Russia was one of Nicaragua’s “main partners” and accused Russia of providing specialized courts for the Nicaraguan National Police. Moscow backs “a repressive state apparatus, carrying out extrajudicial killings, using live ammunition against peaceful protests, and even participating in death squads.”

Highlighting the strength of the relationship between Managua and Moscow, on October 12, 2022, Nicaragua was one of only four countries in the United Nations that voted against condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, joining The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and Syria.

Honduras Supports the Nicaraguan Route by Creating a Legal Path

In response to the growing tension along the Nicaragua border and the increasing number of undocumented migrants reaching Honduras, the government created a program that permits undocumented migrants to pass through the country if they exit within five days. In 2023, Honduras also waived fines normally levied on irregular migrants trying to buy bus tickets, as it left thousands stranded.

When taxi drivers drop off the irregular migrants on the border, they are greeted by handlers who provide one-night lodging with a meal and assistance on their journey through Honduras. The agencies and handlers complete the government paperwork and give the migrants a bright yellow bracelet. The bracelet identifies them as “legal travelers” through Honduras, so the police do not stop them. They travel in groups of 20 to 100 and connect with new handlers in Guatemala.

These programs have turned Honduras into a sort of rest area before the harder and more dangerous journey through Guatemala and Mexico.

Nicaragua is Working with Russia to Influence U.S. Politics and Elections

Speaking with El Pais, Manuel Orozco, a migration expert and analyst at The Inter-American Dialogue, said that Ortega’s ultimate goal is to provoke the United States. “Ortega said that they were going to send migrants to the United States. So, the motivation is fundamentally political and ideological due to the hatred that Ortega has for the U.S.”

Russia has run similar hybrid warfare campaigns across Europe with mixed results. Illegal immigration, particularly from the Sahel and Northern Africa, was front and center during recent elections in The Netherlands, Germany, and France.

In November 2023, Finland closed its border crossing with Russia due to the weaponization of immigration and Moscow’s direct involvement.

The situation on Poland’s border with Belarus is worse. Middle East agencies have created videos mocking Polish border guards, openly showing that Russia and Belarus are directly involved in their transit. In May, a Polish soldier was stabbed to death by a migrant attempting to cross the Belarus-Polish border. On July 13, the Polish Seym approved a law that authorizes border guards and soldiers to fire live ammunition at migrants for “self-defense” and in a “preventative manner.”

Russian and Iranian Anti-immigration Disinformation Campaigns Fueled Riots in the United Kingdom

A shocking demonstration of how powerful Russia’s hybrid warfare campaigns have become played out in the United Kingdom. On July 29, 17-year-old Axel Muganwa Rudakubana, a British citizen born in Cardiff, entered a studio in Southport, stabbed three children to death, and seriously injured eight more and two adults. The victims were attending a summer Taylor Swift-themed dance lesson, and the injured adults tried to stop the attack. A Russian disinformation campaign amplified by far-right parties in the U.K. led to two days of riots, dozens injured, and shops, cars, homes, and a mosque vandalized and burned.

On July 29, while emergency services were still removing the injured, a Russian disinformation campaign started. It was quickly picked up and amplified by the targeted audience. Posts on social media, especially Twitter (also known as X), alleged the attacker was a 20-year-old Islamic extremist who arrived illegally in the U.K. by crossing the English Channel in a boat. They claimed he was a political refugee seeking asylum despite being on a terrorist watch list, and the stabbings were an act of Islamic-motivated terrorism. Those claims were picked up by fake news sites with legitimating sound names and amplified by British tabloids and even ITV, better known as Channel 3.

The false claims spread on Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, and Instagram and were viewed over 18 million times and amplified by large accounts, including Tommy Robinson, accused rapist Andrew Tate, and British politician Nigel Farage.

On extreme right-wing social media channels, white nationalists and isolations planned protests, which quickly devolved into riots. In an attempt to quell the unrest, British officials made the unusual step of providing as much information about the suspect within the law as British born with immigrant parents. It did nothing to quell the unrest, which left Southport shattered and local residents feeling they were attacked for a second time.

On August 1, the British court took the extraordinary step of releasing the juvenile attacker’s name and providing press access to his first hearing. Rudakubana didn’t arrive by boat, wasn’t on a terrorist watch list, and isn’t an Islamic extremist.

Prosecutors told the court that he was diagnosed with autism and had been “unwilling to leave the house and communicate with family for a period of time.” The British tabloid The Mirror interviewed neighbors, who described the teen as shy but happy, a lover of singing and music, actively involved with the local church, and, from outward appearances, having supportive parents.

In the aftermath of the disinformation-fueled violence, new U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed that the far-right rioters would face the “full force of the law.” He added that the “criminal disorder” was “clearly driven by far-right hatred” and issued a warning to social media firms. “Let me also say to large social media companies and those who run them. Violent disorder clearly whipped up online: that is also a crime. It’s happening on your premises, and the law must be upheld everywhere.”

Hours later, Twitter’s billionaire owner, Elon Musk, responded with exclamation points to a tweet by Tommy Robinson, condemning Starmer for calling the rioters “thugs” and for giving “police more power to prevent further protests.” While a small act, Musk alleges to have over 190 million followers, wielding massive global influence.

The protests are far from over, with up to 30 right-wing and anti-immigration organizations planning to descend on Southport this weekend. A new disinformation campaign is spreading on Twitter, accusing a Muslim extremist of being arrested for having a knife near the damaged mosque in Southport. The man arrested was Jordan Davies, 32, a known British white supremacist.

Weaponized immigration also brought unrest to the United States. In February 2024, hundreds of protesters descended on Eagle Pass, Texas, after Texas Governor Greg Abbott declared a state of emergency and blocked federal officials from accessing a small area of the United States-Mexico border. Those protests were fueled in part by a surge in immigration fueled by the actions of Nicaragua and amplified on social media platforms.

Russian disinformation campaigns made wild claims and actively encouraged the decades-long Texas Secession movement. The right-wing protesters who arrived at Eagle Pass discovered that undocumented migrants arrived in a steady stream of small groups, and along nearby areas on the border, only desert could be found. Others were surprised to find few Latin Americans crossing the border.

The Biden Administration and Other Nations are Quietly Fighting Back

The Biden Administration has quietly taken steps to stem the flow. Sanctions announced on May 15 included over 250 members of the Nicaraguan government, including “select non-government actors for their roles in supporting the Ortega-Murillo regime in its attacks on human rights and fundamental freedoms, repression of civil society organizations and profiting off of vulnerable migrants.”

On June 13, the State Department imposed visa restrictions on an unnamed executive of a “charter flight transport company” for facilitating irregular migration to the United States via Nicaragua from outside the Western Hemisphere.” Matthew Miller, the spokesperson for the State Department, said the unnamed individual preys “on vulnerable migrants by operating services designed primarily to facilitate irregular migration to the United States. At the same time, the Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua continues to financially benefit from the exploitation of vulnerable migrants.”

Two days later, it was announced that more sanctions had been imposed. Visa restrictions were added to additional “owners, executives, and senior officials of companies providing transportation by land, sea, or charter air designed for use primarily by persons intending to migrate irregularly to the United States…for knowingly facilitating the travel of irregular migrants to the U.S. southwest border.”

On July 3, an agreement was reached with Panama to cover the costs of repatriating migrants who enter Panama illegally through the Darien Gap. Last year, over 500,000 people made the dangerous journey.

Two weeks later, Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino announced security forces had closed some unofficial access points and started installing barbed wire fencing to funnel migrants to a single checkpoint.

In May 2024, according to the State Department, an Egyptian court initiated the trial of 16 people accused of smuggling migrants to the United States and have been charged with acts of organized crime and human smuggling. According to Egyptian officials, the group arranged air transportation of migrants and placed them in “dangerous, degrading, and inhuman circumstances throughout the smuggling process.”

Also in May, authorities in Jamaica refused landing rights to a charter plane carrying irregular migrants.

In June, the number of migrants trying to cross the U.S. border dropped to the lowest level since 2019. Most Americans have forgotten about Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Operation Lonestar, and the standoff between federal officials and the Texas National Guard.

That’s probably set to change. Less than 12 hours after President Joe Biden announced he would not seek reelection, the Associated Press reported that a caravan of 2,000 migrants from over a dozen countries, waiting in Ciudad Hidalgo, Mexico, had started their journey to the U.S. border.

The city sits on the border with Guatemala, and some of the irregular migrants told reporters they had waited for weeks for travel permits, which were unexpectedly approved shortly after Biden’s announcement.