Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador evaded commenting on the human rights violations of the Daniel Ortega regime.
In his daily press conference, which lasted nearly three hours, a journalist questioned the president: “Do you condemn the violation of the human rights of the 222 Nicaraguans (in exile) and would you offer them Mexican nationality?”
“We are going to have breakfast now and tomorrow we will talk, we will answer, on that subject,” López Obrador replied despite the well-known length of his morning conferences.
Just on Monday, 22 former heads of State and Government members of the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (IDEA) denounced the silence of López Obrador before the exile and withdrawal of nationality of 222 political prisoners in Nicaragua.
The silence of the Mexican president contrasts with that of other left-wing governments in Latin America, such as that of Chilean President Gabriel Boric, who has condemned the act and has referred to Ortega as a “dictator”, and that of Argentina, which this Tuesday offered the nationality to the exiles.
On February 9, the Nicaraguan authorities expelled to the United States a group of 222 political prisoners for “traitors to the homeland.” In addition, on the 15th the regime stripped another 94 Nicaraguans of their nationality, including religious, diplomats, former state officials, human rights defenders, journalists, academics, students, businessmen and merchants.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE), at the request of EFE, responded last Thursday that “Mexico has promptly followed up on the situation of Nicaraguans deported from Nicaragua.”
In this sense, it maintained that “it will remain vigilant that the human rights of this group of people are respected and protected, including their rights to nationality and not to be arbitrarily deprived of it.”
“And to the use and enjoyment of their goods and property unless it is confiscated or restricted for justified reasons provided for in the laws and through the payment of fair compensation,” he added.
Although López Obrador has explicitly condemned the crisis in Peru under the command of Dina Boluarte and has offered asylum to the family of former president Pedro Castillo, he has kept a controversial ambiguity regarding Nicaragua and the allegations of repression of opponents by the Ortega government .
Argentina willing to give citizenship to “stateless”
The Argentine Government affirmed this Tuesday that it is in a position to grant Argentine citizenship to any of the Nicaraguans who have been deprived of their nationality by the Ortega Administration.
The statement made this Tuesday by the Argentine Foreign Minister, Santiago Cafiero, was in response to the statement by the Nicaraguan writer and Cervantes Literature Prize winner Sergio Ramírez, who indicated that if Argentina offered nationality, he would become Argentine.
“If Ramírez asks for Argentine citizenship, we will give it to him,” Cafiero told Con Vos radio.
The Argentine foreign minister added that “to him and to all those who are suffering from what is happening in Nicaragua.”
The official explained that “the procedure” is “personal”, so although Argentina is willing to grant citizenship to the affected Nicaraguans, they “have to request it.”
Ramírez told the Clarín newspaper that Argentina had not responded to the letter in which a group of intellectuals and political leaders urged the international community on February 17 “to speak out and assume an active role in all actions that may lead to to the cessation of the abuses and violations of human rights committed by the Ortega-Murillo regime”.
The Nicaraguan writer added that the government of Alberto Fernández did not respond to a letter from the day before that the Argentine intellectuals gathered in “The discussion table on human rights, democracy and society” in which they request that Argentine citizenship be granted to 317 Nicaraguans. thrown “to the condition of stateless”.
The presidential spokesperson, Gabriela Cerruti, reaffirmed this Tuesday on her Twitter account that “the Argentine government is willing to grant Argentine citizenship” to Ramírez and Belli and “all those who are suffering from what is happening in Nicaragua.”
