Vaccine diplomacy sees Nicaragua cut ties with Taiwan for Covid shots

China’s vaccine diplomacy in Latin America has remained firm to its carrot-and-stick approach, as the country “gifted” Nicaragua with 1 million Sinopharm jabs to complete its Covid-19 vaccination campaign after the Central American nation cut ties with Taiwan. The move comes shortly after China canceled an almost identical contract with Paraguay, after the country refused to break its long-lasting alliance with the island nation, which dates back to the Cold War. 

Indeed, it also follows some of the tensest political moments in recent Nicaraguan history, after President Daniel Ortega was widely accused of rigging elections by banning most opposition candidates from participating, all while the country’s international relations with the West rapidly deteriorated. Nicaragua left the Organization of American States and expelled numerous Western-backed NGOs from its territory, while both the European Union and the U.S. labeled the Nicaraguan election “illegitimate” and a “pantomime.”

“The government of the Republic of Nicaragua today breaks diplomatic relations with Taiwan and ceases to have any contact or official relationship,” said Nicaragua’s foreign ministry last week. “The People’s Republic...