Country's leader Daniel Ortega has been a staunch ally of Kremlin since 1979.

The Nicaraguan regime has authorized Russian troops, planes and ships to deploy to Nicaragua for purposes of training, law enforcement or emergency response.

In a decree published this week, and confirmed by Russia on Thursday, Ortega will allow Russian troops to carry out law enforcement duties, “humanitarian aid, rescue and search missions in emergencies or natural disasters.”

Nicaragua also authorized the presence of small contingents of Russian troops for “exchange of experiences and training.”

Mr. Ortega has been a staunch ally of Kremlin since his days in the leadership of the 1979 revolution that ousted dictator Anastasio Somoza. Mr. Ortega served as president from 1985 to 1990, before being re-elected to power in 2007.

Mr. Ortega’s regime arrested dozens of political opposition leaders, including most of the potential presidential candidates, in the months before his re-election to a fourth consecutive term last year.

Nicaragua's security apparatus has shut down dozens of nongovernmental groups that he accuses of working on behalf of foreign interests to destabilize his regime. Tens of thousands of Nicaraguans have been chased into exile.