The president of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), Dante Mossi, traveled to Costa Rica on Tuesday, a visit that sparked protests from a group of Nicaraguans who went to the entity’s headquarters to accuse him of “financing dictatorships.”
Mossi traveled to the Central American country after CABEI approved a loan for the construction of the so-called “Government City” in Costa Rica, a project that seeks to erect several buildings to house some 18 institutions, in order to save the State about 23 million dollars annually.
“We are pleased to be in Costa Rica today to learn about the winning project of the Ciudad Gobierno architectural contest, a contest that CABEI supported a few months ago to encourage the participation of architects from all over the world to develop this important work for the country, which CABEI will finance and carry it out in the coming years,” explained Mossi.
For his part, the Costa Rican president Rodrigo Chaves said that this project will not only allow them to stop spending on private rentals, but that within a couple of years it will allow them to have their own infrastructure. “It is proof that Costa Rica is not a static nation, but that it builds and rebuilds itself to be better and better,” said President Chaves.
Mossi “the banker of dictators”
After Mossi’s arrival, a group of Nicaraguans gathered at the entrance to the CABEI headquarters in Costa Rica to protest against the official, whom they accused of “oxygenating the Ortega dictatorship.”
“Here is Mr. Mossi and we want to tell the Central Americans that Mr. Mossi is an accomplice of the Ortegas,” he told the voice of america the opponent of the Blue and White Unit (UNAB) Héctor Mairena. “He has been called the banker of dictators and this is for his reasons. Mossi has become the main source of financing for the Ortega dictatorship.”
According to the opponent, 25% of CABEI’s loan portfolio is placed in Nicaragua, where, in his opinion, there is no transparency in the management of resources.
“In addition to that, Mossi has crossed the limits of ethics because he has expressed his rejection of the sanctions that have been imposed on the Ortega Murillo dictatorship,” he added.
Ana Quiroz, another opponent of UNAB, added that it is questionable that while Ortega continues his “repression” by depriving more than 300 Nicaraguans of their nationality, he continues to receive financial resources.
Mossi has referred on different occasions to the criticism of Nicaraguan opponents against him. Last May, in an interview with VOAsaid that “there are appropriate instances” to file complaints and stressed that “CABEI is not a human rights instance.”
“I would urge people who have claims to the Nicaraguan government, validated or not, to go to these instances to present their cases,” Mossi said at the time..
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