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Nicaragua leaves Cuba out of its 2027 military permits, according to Infobae

Presidential decree 13-2026 authorises Nicaragua's military cooperation with Russia, China, the United States, Mexico and several Central American countries in 2027, but does not include Cuba or Venezuela: the first time since 2020, according to Infobae, citing Confidencial.digital's tally of the decrees.

The order leaves out both the arrival of Cuban and Venezuelan military personnel and trips by Nicaraguan troops to Havana and Caracas. These permits are usually approved every six months, and this is the first time since 2020 that neither country appears in them, according to Infobae.

Cuba sent 700 troops to Nicaragua between 2020 and 2026, at 50 personnel per half-year, mainly for activities presented as humanitarian missions, according to that tally.

Russia keeps the largest foreign contingent covered by the Nicaraguan permits: at least 2,280 troops between 2020 and the first half of 2027. In 2020 Managua authorised 240 Russian troops per half-year, and from the second half of 2022 the figure fell to 180, the level kept in the authorisation for the first six months of 2027.

Venezuela, also excluded, had sent at least 2,190 troops between 2020 and the second half of 2026. Decree 13-2026 does not spell out the reasons for either exclusion.

A security specialist consulted by Confidencial.digital, who asked for anonymity for fear of reprisals, linked Cuba's exclusion to the island's economic and health crisis and said the authorities might need to concentrate more military and Interior Ministry forces in the face of possible internal unrest. Infobae notes that this assessment was not presented as an official explanation from either the Cuban or the Nicaraguan government.

Sources: Infobae

Data updated: 2026-11-04T16:15:00.000Z

Nicaragua leaves Cuba out of its 2027 military permits, according to Infobae | Yamacoa Observatory