Episode Notes:

In 2021, Nicaraguan Gen. Julio César Avilés told the country that the army had no business declaring who won an election. Five years later, he was the first official called to testify in support of dissolving the electoral basis of the government he serves. In their recent article, Orlando J. Pérez and Randy Pestana argue that the Nicaraguan army will decide whether the country consolidates into a North Korea-style dynastic succession or opens toward something more democratic. Grace talks with Orlando and Randy about the army's co-optation, the colonels and majors stuck in the "institutional bottleneck," and why Washington should be setting the conditions for engagement now.

Image: TDKR Chicago 101 via Wikimedia Commons