The response to the recent aggression by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo against the Organization of American States (OAS), whose headquarters were raided and confiscated in Managua, could be Nicaragua’s suspension of the organization and reporting the international system to sever all ties with the regime, says Chilean Senator José Miguel Insulza, former Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS) between 2005 and 2015.
According to Insulza, Nicaragua is experiencing “a black night from which sooner or later it will come out,” for which he considers it useless to find a pattern of behavior in Ortega or Murillo, in the light of ethics or law.
“They do what they want,” he criticized in an interview with the program This weekin which he analyzed the recent police takeover of the OAS headquarters in Managua, as well as the subsequent confiscation of the property, which marks the latest international scandal of an increasingly isolated dictatorship.
On Sunday, April 24, the regime described the organization as a “diabolical instrument” and confiscated the building where the OAS offices were located. How do you evaluate these actions?
One can say that they are absolutely illegal, but everything that has to do with the Daniel Ortega regime is illegal, starting with his election. His election as president, his wife as vice president, everything he’s done are very unusual things. They really are from ancient dictators.
The properties of the OAS are protected by a headquarters agreement between Nicaragua and the organization. That is not subject to whether the country leaves or not. For the rest, the decision to abandon it, there is still a good time to continue complying with the inter-American treaty. So this is completely illegal.
If the imprisonments that Ortega carries out against political opponents, the confiscations that they carry out, the way in which he and his henchmen have distributed the assets of all Nicaraguans, all these things are illegal too, let him now confiscate what is from the OAS, I don’t know what result that would have. Probably none, because suffice it to say that it is diabolical, if we are also in an apparently magical period, rather than politics, witchcraft plays a role here.
Is there any precedent in the history of the OAS?
No, remember. Venezuela left, denounced the treaty, it was unfortunate, but it has not yet launched an offensive against OAS assets. Cuba is outside the organization by its own will. The sanctions for 2009 were lifted, he still hasn’t decided to return, but as far as I know he didn’t confiscate the headquarters either.
And what impact does this have on the body?
I always thought that one of the strengths of the OAS is that the 35 states of the American hemisphere are part of it. When two have already decided to abandon it—and Cuba has not returned—that is certainly a pity; 32 is not the same as 35.
It would be a great thing if Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua were members, but I don’t really think that it would cause economic damage if they were or not. Nicaragua’s contribution to the organization’s budget is very low. It does not reach 1%.
It is a political damage that he wanted to inflict, but the Ortega dictatorship is a little different from the political processes that are taking place in the region that, in some way, have some legal, political and economic content.
The Ortega dictatorship gets along well with businessmen, it is not a socialist state, far from it, although it celebrates it many times as such. But you are not going to put a fascist state on it either. There is not much to do about it. Nicaragua is in a black night, in which sooner or later it will come out. At this point, Ortega already does what he wants. They get up in the morning, he and his wife do whatever they want.
In the session of the OAS Permanent Council on Wednesday, April 27, different States “called for action”, What can they do?
I do not know if there is any recourse before an international organization. There would be two possible ones: the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court (ICC), but the ICC is fundamentally for crimes committed. Surely there are, but they would have to be well documented and the Court received them. It could also probably claim before a Court so that it rules against Nicaragua and prosecutes it for the damage it is causing it. I don’t think Ortega is going to pay attention to him.
The assault and confiscation of the diplomatic headquarters not only violates the Charter of the same organization, but also the Vienna Convention, Can the OAS take this case to other binding bodies, in this case the UN?
The OAS could sue the Ortega government in a court of a country in which Nicaragua has assets, and therefore collect compensation for the illegal confiscation of its assets. I imagine that Nicaragua still has assets in the United States and other countries in the region. I can’t think of anything else they could do.
Nicaragua denounced the Charter of the organization, but remains a member until 2023, what consequences does it have for the country that does not comply with its obligations?
That could be denounced before international courts, or before the United Nations of course, but only to be compensated, because there is no punishment. It is not that they are going to expel him from the UN. As the OAS is part of the regional body of the United Nations, it could insist before the Nicaraguan government to compensate, but that will hardly change the situation of the organization in Nicaragua.
It is important to point out that the system is made up of sovereign states, international organizations are multilateral, not supranational. The OAS is not an organization that can execute Nicaragua. It would have to go to an international court for that, but it still has an international legal personality. You can go to the Nicaraguan courts, but that, of course, would be useless. It would be to try legal, civil actions against Nicaragua in other states, asking for the return of their property or compensation.
Does the untimely departure of Nicaragua from the OAS also extend to the Inter-American Development Bank?
I think it would fit. What is the problem? The first thing the OAS could do is suspend Nicaragua. Based on that, communicate this suspension to all the organizations of the international system. So that they cut all ties with Nicaragua. A General Assembly would have to decide this way.
In the event that the member countries add up to 24 votes to expel Nicaragua from the OAS, would that have any effect?
That suspension would take effect. It had the same effect with Cuba, it was never able to participate in the IDB and neither in the Pan American Health Organization, nor in the agricultural entity that depends on the OAS, nor in any other activity of the inter-American system. I get the impression that Nicaragua is not in the ring.
The diplomatic efforts to resolve the Nicaraguan crisis failed. Does the organization still have any pressure tool, or should the States resort to bilateral actions?
In the first place, it should appeal to the Permanent Council so that there is a plenary session. The decision to suspend Nicaragua, to do so before its presence in the organization ends in 2023. But if the suspension clearly does not take place, with two thirds, it is no longer what it can do. There is time to suspend it and thereby deprive it of all its rights in the inter-American system.
On March 23, the former Nicaraguan ambassador to the OAS, Arturo McFields, denounced the dictatorship. That denunciation and now Ortega’s abuse of the organization, can it add more to his international isolation?
Naturally. Nicaragua continues to have an embassy in many of the Latin American countries. They are embassies without any transcendence. They don’t even spread the regime’s communiqués.
A week ago, Ortega celebrated the ruling of the International Court of Justice in the case of Colombia. How do you qualify its conduct that, on the one hand, confiscates the OAS diplomatic mission, and on the other hand, celebrates the ruling?
That’s Ortega. He has no pattern of behavior. He has lost all ethics, you can say he is immoral, please, if already putting all the presidential candidates in prison was already a very great immorality. Let’s not try to prosecute Ortega’s conduct on the basis of law, ethics, or custom. Simply because Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo unfortunately do whatever they want in their country.
