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Nicaragua leaves Cuban troops out of its 2027 exercise plan, according to Martí Noticias
Presidential decree 13-2026, published on October 29 in the official gazette, authorises troops from Russia, China, Mexico, the United States and the CFAC to enter the country in the first half of 2027, but not from Cuba or Venezuela, Martí Noticias reported.
The decree, signed by co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, authorises foreign troops, ships and aircraft to enter Nicaragua for exercises with “humanitarian purposes” in the first half of 2027: Russia, China, Mexico, the United States and the Conference of Central American Armed Forces, but neither Cuba nor Venezuela. It is the first time since 2020 that Cuban and Venezuelan military personnel have been absent from those half-yearly authorisations, according to Martí Noticias.
Security and defence specialist Guillermo Pacheco told Martí Noticias the exclusion “is significant, but does not appear to constitute a definitive ideological or political break,” and is probably “a tactical move to reduce the visibility of the ALBA military axis” and avoid further international scrutiny and sanctions. He noted that the decrees are renewed every six months, so he considers the measure “temporary and reversible.”
Nicaraguan analyst Eliseo Núñez argued that “Cuba currently has no resources to deploy” and that Managua may also be avoiding association with Havana because military exchanges “could serve as a trigger for US action” against Cuba, given its ties to China and Russia.
In the same decree, Russia is authorised to send 180 rotating troops in the first half of 2027, which would bring its total to 2,200 since 2020, and China is also included, though without detailed personnel figures.
Núñez added that China will supply Nicaragua with a biometric system for facial, fingerprint and iris recognition that the government will present as a modernisation of the electoral register, and described the military relationship with Moscow as “total,” covering weapons, training and advice.
Sources: Martí Noticias
Data updated: 2026-11-08T16:15:00.000Z