On the night of this Wednesday, March 23, Daniel Ortega ignored the rebellion of his ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), Arturo McFields, who said hours before in a session of the Permanent Council that it cannot be “defend the indefensible” when he referred precisely to the human rights violations perpetrated by “the dictatorship.”
Ortega participated in the 42nd anniversary of the National Literacy Crusade, an act in which he took the opportunity to distinguish the best students in the country and in which he offered an unusual 14-minute speech, focusing solely on the educational issue, without mentioning McFields.
The event was chaired by the president, his wife and vice president Rosario Murillo, presidential adviser Salvador Vanegas, Sheikh Manssour Bin Mussallam, secretary general of the Organization for Educational Cooperation (OCE) and Sandinista teacher Orlando Pineda.
In his speech, Ortega referred to peace as one of humanity’s great challenges, a statement that contrasts with the diplomatic stance of his regime that publicly supported the Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
“Here we have a youth, we have a people, that is committed to peace. Education for peace. Education for justice, education for freedom, it’s a combination!” she said.
McFields’ speech put the magnifying glass on the serious deterioration in the health of political prisoners, but also on public employees who, according to the diplomat, are forced “to pretend, to fill vacancies and repeat slogans, because if they don’t they lose Your job”.
“I have to speak up, even if I’m scared, I have to speak up, even if my future and my family’s are uncertain, I have to speak up because if I don’t, the stones themselves are going to speak for me,” McFields said.
The Secretary General of the OAS, Luis Almagro, offered his protection to the Nicaraguan ambassador and highlighted his courage and its commitment to the values of the organization in one of the first international reactions.
After Ortega’s intervention, Murillo also did not refer to the complaint and only said that as a government they have turned the darkness left to them into light. The official assured that each person who arrives in the country feels admired by the tranquility that is breathed in Nicaragua.
“Education, which is dreams coming true, is key to moving forward in overcoming the difficult circumstances we inherit and to move forward creating the future we deserve. Work, education, security and peace, that is Nicaragua!” added the number two of the regime.
McFields, in his speech, maintained that months ago he had requested the release of 20 elderly political prisoners and another 20 with severe health problems, but he was not heard either. In Nicaragua, there are currently 177 prisoners of conscience.
Ambassador McFields was, before working for the Foreign Ministry, a reporter for Channel 12 and the newspaper La Prensa. One of his best-known television reports was when the then reporter visited the current Ortega Murillo family at their residence in the El Carmen neighborhood, in Managua, to tell how they celebrated Christmas in 2006, a year before the Sandinista leader rose again to power after 16 years in opposition.
