Nicaragua Congress renews Russian training exercise approval

FILE PHOTO: Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega speaks to supporters during the opening ceremony of a highway overpass in Managua, Nicaragua March 21, 2019. REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas

MANAGUA (Reuters) - Nicaragua's Congress renewed on Tuesday a decade-long decree allowing Russian forces to train in the Central American country, a decision criticized by the United States in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The decree allows 230 Russian soldiers to enter Nicaragua between July 1 and Dec. 31 to patrol in Pacific waters with the Nicaraguan Army.