In 2024 Bitcoin Policy SummitNicaraguan democracy activist Felix Maradiaga has spoken out about the serious challenges facing the country under the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega.
Maradiaga said Nicaraguans are losing their freedoms at an alarming rate.
“by Freedom in the World Report“We have been very unfortunately labeled as the country that has lost the most freedoms over the past year,” Maradiaga told Bitcoin Magazine.
“Imagine a country where you could go to jail for simply flying the flag, tweeting, accepting money from an international donor country or expressing an opinion on social media,” he added.
“That’s the current situation in Nicaragua.”
Maradiaga noted that 130 people are currently being arbitrarily detained for political reasons, and that over the past three years, more than 1,700 people have been imprisoned in inhuman conditions, of which he is one.
According to Maradiaga, the repressive environment has forced about 12 percent of the population into exile.
Fighting financial repression with Bitcoin
Maradiaga is currently working to rebuild Nicaragua’s democratic opposition from abroad and has also advocated using Bitcoin to circumvent the financial repression imposed by the Ortega regime.
With his wife Berta Valle Human Rights Foundation Maradiaga thanked Chief Strategy Officer Alex Gladstein for introducing him to Bitcoin, and shared an example of how the technology has helped pro-democracy freedom fighters on the front lines in Nicaragua.
When his team of human rights defenders compiled a report on the situation in Nicaragua in 2018, those involved in the process were compensated through traditional financial means.
The Ortega regime, with the support of the European Union, the United Nations and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), was able to access these financial records, which led to the persecution of those involved in the activities of Maradiaga’s team.
“We learned very early on that we couldn’t use the traditional banking system, because financial repression for political control is actually one of the areas where dictators have learned a lot. They are very sophisticated,” he explained.
To combat this, Maradiaga and his colleagues turned to Bitcoin.
“Bitcoin is the only tool that offers protection from dictators’ financial repression,” Maradiaga said.
Abusing anti-money laundering regulations
Maradiaga reflected on global policy and discussed the broader implications of laws and regulations regarding Bitcoin.
he, Magnitsky Justice MovementIt noted that it has imposed sanctions against repressive regimes, which in turn retaliate by freezing the bank accounts of freedom fighters under the guise of international money laundering controls approved by institutions such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
He further explained that anti-money laundering rules are often used to target the wrong people.
“This law has forced 3,400 NGOs to close,” Maradiaga explained.
He argued that the systems developed after World War II were outdated and that it was essential to embrace new technologies like Bitcoin.
Policymakers need to learn about Bitcoin
Maradiaga urged policymakers around the world to learn about Bitcoin.
“Policymakers around the world who are skeptical of Bitcoin must acknowledge that it’s natural to have doubts when you don’t understand the technology at all,” he said. “Once you learn about this technology, you’ll really see that this is a much more effective tool to address these challenges than traditional currency[systems].”
A global fight against dictators
Maradiaga also stressed that Nicaragua’s suffering is part of a larger problem.
“Dictators are complicit,” he said.
“They share technology. They support themselves through weapons and mechanisms of repression,” he added.
“Those of us who believe in freedom, human dignity, human rights, and a free and fair society need to work together.”
Maradiaga said people can join his efforts. World Freedom Congress.
