The Nicaraguan government annulled this Wednesday the appointment of its ambassadors to Chile, Belgium and the European Union, according to a publication in the official journal The Gazette.
They are Lilliam del Carmen Méndez, representative of Managua in Chile; Zoila Müller Goff, representative before Belgium -and Ethiopia- and the EU.
Müller had been declared persona non grata by the European Union at the beginning of October last year as a measure of reciprocity to the decision of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega who made a similar decision regarding the representation of the bloc.
However, the diplomat still remained in Brussels as a direct representative to Belgium.
In Chile, Ortega also appointed a counselor minister with consular functions. This is Gadiel Francisco Arce.
The Executive’s decision comes amid criticism from the international community that accuses the Ortega government of human rights violations. For example, Chile, with a leftist government led by President Gabriel Boric, has demanded the release of the more than 200 political prisoners in Managua.
The European Union has also questioned Ortega for the same reasons and has in fact imposed sanctions against people close to the Sandinista president.
Ortega in response has lashed out at Chile, as well as the EU, accusing them of being an “instrument” of the United States.
Nicaragua has been experiencing a political crisis since 2018, when protests against Ortega arose, which he called an attempted coup.
The president who returned to power in 2007 and has remained amid allegations of electoral fraud. Since then, he has distanced himself from the international community that demands respect for human rights and the release of more than 200 political prisoners.
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