The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica, Arnoldo Andre Tinocostated that the government of Rodrigo Chaves is extremely concerned about the continuous attacks against the independent press in Nicaragua and the condition of the political prisoners of the Daniel Ortega regime.
“We are very concerned about the political prisoners and their families. We are very concerned about the lack of freedom of the press and other aspects that have been resolved by the international organizations in whose resolutions we have supported the restitution of the democratic order and freedoms in Nicaragua,” the Costa Rican foreign minister told the voice of america (VOA).
In addition, he pointed out that although “the problems of each country must be resolved by the population of each nation, due to the principle of self-determination of peoples, historically, as a State policy, Costa Rica has been emphatic in denouncing the persistent violation of human rights” .
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He also revealed that before the expulsion of the diplomats of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Nicaragua, President Rodrigo Chaves’s proposal to appoint an ambassador in Managua was not carried out and he decided to leave relations between the two countries “as is”. they have been giving.”
“At the diplomatic level, we maintain a chargé d’affaires in Managua and Managua has recently withdrawn its ambassador (Dulio) Hernández and has replaced him with a chargé d’affaires, Mr. Valdrack Jaentschke. We see in it an act of reciprocity because Costa Rica does not have an ambassador there », he stressed.
Likewise, the minister stressed that the relations between Costa Rica and Nicaragua “are historic” and are maintained; ruling out some kind of friction between the two nations.
“They are relationships of all kinds. The commercial nature is very clear with a constant flow of exchange. On a personal, consular basis, well, I already told you that there are approximately one million Nicaraguans here that the Nicaraguan consulate must deal with, just as we have Costa Rican activities in Managua. It is up to neighboring countries to understand each other,” André Tinoco told VOA.
Nicaraguan refugee requests saturate Costa Rica
The Minister of Foreign Affairs stated that Costa Rica “no longer has the capacity to attend” the migratory wave of Nicaraguans, who flee to the neighboring country due to the sociopolitical and economic crisis that persists in Nicaragua.
For Arnoldo André Tinoco, this situation is of concern, because the migratory flow of Nicaraguans has caused the system to become saturated and the migration authorities to grant appointments for a period of seven years.
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“This means that the country no longer has the capacity to attend to this emergency alone. It needs international support and determined cooperation, not only to process refugee applications, but also to finance all the necessary measures to integrate this population,” said the foreign minister.
He also stressed that Costa Rica has distinguished itself for being a humanitarian and hospitable country in this sense, but stressed that the financial cost “of this population in social security, social assistance, education for minors and integration, is excessive for the country finance it alone.
“That is why we have gone to the international community seeking financial support and hopefully it will not be reimbursable because it is not fair that Costa Rica has to go into debt and pay interest to solve a problem whose cause and origin is not ours,” he concluded.
