The visit of the Iranian terrorist Mohsen Rezai to Nicaragua on January 10 at the inauguration of Daniel Ortega was viewed with great concern by the United States, acknowledged Brian A. Nichols, Under Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, during a conference call with journalists from the region in which details of the Summit of the Americas, scheduled to take place in June, in the city of Los Angeles, were announced.
“Rezai’s visit to Nicaragua upset the entire hemisphere,” said Nichols, who also confirmed that the statement made by the Argentine delegation during the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) this Wednesdays in which he denounced the presence of Rezai in Managua, was promoted in conjunction with the United States.
Undersecretary Nichols avoided answering whether Rezai’s visit to Managua is seen as a threat to the national security of the United States, and focused on pointing out the satisfaction that Argentina’s complaint within the OAS was supported by 25 countries. , which indicates the regional consensus in rejection of “anti-Semitic terrorism”.
This Wednesday, the Argentine delegation emphasized in its statement the call to respect Interpol’s red alerts among OAS members and pointed to the “reprehensible” action of the Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo regime in receiving Rezai.
According to the Argentine justice, Rezai, current vice president of economic affairs of Iran, is accused of participating in the planning of an attack in 1994 on the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association (AMIA), in which 84 people died.
This Thursday CONFIDENTIAL revealed that Rezai’s presence in Nicaragua was openly disclosed by the government spokesperson, Rosario Murillo, three days before the act of inauguration took place. The Argentine ambassador in Nicaragua, Mateo Daniel Capitanich, alleged that the consultations of CONFIDENTIAL that he did not listen to Murillo’s monologue informing him of Rezai’s presence and that they did not know the guest list either.
“Commitments to democracy”: keys to participating in the summit
Nichols explained that the White House is the one that will determine in the coming weeks which countries of the hemisphere will be invited to participate in the Summit of the Americas. However, he warned that one of the key factors to participate in the important regional event will be the “commitments to democracy” that the governments of the region have.
“The White House is the one that will decide which leaders to invite, but democracy is key in the Summit process and President Joe Biden is committed to promoting democracy and human rights. These are key factors that the White House will take into account. It will be President Biden who in the coming weeks will disclose which countries will be invited,” Nichols responded.
“The Summit will seek to strengthen commitments to democracy and human rights, consistent with the provisions of the OAS Inter-American Democratic Charter. We hope to achieve results that meet expectations. Our approach is that we don’t care which side of the political spectrum they are on. If you were democratically elected and govern democratically, we want to work with you for a better future for our peoples”, he added.
At the Summit for Democracy Organized by President Biden on December 9 and 10 of last year, the countries of the region not invited to the world event were: Bolivia, Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Nichols added that they are working previously with those nations that the United States considers to be its main allies in the hemisphere to achieve results during the event in June. The official said that he could not give more details about these previous talks, but predicted that they will imply significant policies focused on strengthening democracies and the fight for human rights in the region.
He also acknowledged that other issues in which they hope to obtain satisfactory results is in agreeing on a joint strategy to face the covid-19 pandemic, the migratory issue, the environmental crisis and added that they will place special emphasis on the growing influence of China and Russia in the hemisphere.
