Q24N (AFP) – President Daniel Ortega presented a bill on Wednesday to ban the use and possession of drones in Nicaragua, according to a document to which AFP had access.
“The entry and use of unmanned aerial, naval and terrestrial means is prohibited, in the national territory, by natural or legal persons,” states the bill sent by Ortega to the National Assembly, dominated by the ruling Sandinista party.
The ban will apply throughout the country, including its airspace and jurisdictional waters.
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The measure concerns any person, national or foreign, as well as legal persons (corporations).
“The Presidency of the Republic is the only entity that authorizes the entry and use of these devices”, the bill highlights.
The only ones authorized to operate drones will be the Army, the National Police and the Ministry of the Interior for purposes of “security and national defense.”
The Presidency reserves the right to authorize extraordinary use, entry, and possession of drones for “scientific studies, search, rescue and salvage work and tourist, recreational, sporting and cultural events,” the bill adds.
In addition, it establishes a 30-day period for those who possess drones to hand them over to the authorities.
Failure to do so will “expressly violate” the law, which entails “administrative or judicial” sanctions, the bill warns.
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In his explanatory statement, Ortega, 79 years old and in power since 2007, explained that the Constitution establishes that “any foreign interference in the internal affairs of Nicaragua or any attempt to undermine these rights, threatens the life of the people” and that “it is the duty of all Nicaraguans to preserve and defend these rights.”
The government of Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, has tightened repression since the opposition protests of 2018, which left more than 300 dead in three months according to the UN and which Managua considers an attempted coup d’état promoted by the United States.
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