Through a joint declaration, the Joint Ministerial Committee established between the European Union and Canada addressed the crisis that Nicaragua is going through, demanding that the Daniel Ortega regime release the imprisoned opponents and annul the trials against them.
The nations reiterated their commitment to continue cooperating on issues in Latin America and the Caribbean, focusing, among other aspects, on political challenges related to democracy, protection and respect for human rights, and governance, in a statement signed by the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice President of the Commission Josep Borrell, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Canada, Mélanie Joly.
“The EU and Canada also reaffirmed their commitment to continue supporting the people of Nicaragua in their right to decide the destiny of their country and reiterated their call for the immediate release of all political prisoners and the dismissal of all judicial proceedings against them. », refers the release.
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In the cases of Venezuela and Cuba, they stated that they remain committed to alleviating the difficult situation that the people are experiencing by supporting efforts to find a peaceful and democratic solution to the lasting crisis. They ask the Cuban dictatorship to fully protect the rights of all people and guarantee due process in accordance with international standards, in reference to the sentences handed down on the island against peaceful protesters.
“The EU and Canada expressed their concern about the long sentences handed down in Cuba against peaceful protesters, and urged Cuba to fully respect and protect the rights of all people to peaceful assembly and freedom of opinion and expression, and to guarantee due process and transparency, in accordance with international standards, with respect to the trials in progress”, refers the Committee.
Recently, MEPs Javier Nart, Soraya Rodríguez and Jordi Cañas asked Borrell to sanction 14 judges who have been in charge of convicting opponents with laws created by Ortega. The requested sanctions are still under analysis in Brussels and must be approved by a Council of Foreign Ministers that includes the 27 member states.
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The document issued by the MEPs stated that “impunity is increasing in Nicaragua and the judges must be held directly responsible for the repression in the country. With these illegitimate judicial sentences against arbitrarily detained political prisoners, the judges have also become responsible for human rights violations.”
Borrell harshly criticized, on May 4, the regime of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, which he described as “one of the most repressive on the planet.”
