Daniel Ortega reappeared after almost a month of being absent from public events to politically gloat over the ruling of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in favor of Nicaragua over Colombia and again accusing the authorities of that country of “holding power thanks to the support of drug trafficking.”
Ortega, during an intervention of a little more than 40 minutes, also took advantage of the act to attack the European Union and the United States, accusing them of being the protectors of Colombia because this country is its “main supplier of drugs.”
Ortega appeared alongside General Julio César Avilés, head of the National Army, his in-law Francisco Díaz, head of the National Police, Gustavo Porras, president of the National Assembly, Foreign Minister Denis Moncada Colindres, and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo.
The ICJ, the main judicial body of the United Nations, considered this Thursday, April 21, valid Nicaragua’s complaints about the violation by Colombia of its “sovereignty and jurisdiction” with its fishing permit for Colombian vessels and its “interference” with the Nicaraguan tasks of marine scientific research in the waters of Managua.
The ruling, read from the seat of the court in The Haguewas considered by international lawyer Paul Reichler, Nicaragua’s former legal adviser before the ICJ, as “another historic victory for Nicaragua before the Court.”
“A power that has its bases in drug trafficking”
“It was a clear, irrefutable sentence, with the power of justice. A devastating sentence. What this sentence issued by the Court does is tell the authorities that they have power in Colombia, a power they call democratic, but that we all know is a power that has its bases in drug trafficking,” Ortega said.
“They have converted Colombia, those who have imposed themselves on that country, have bloodied that country. Thousands of murdered, every day, there in Colombia. They assassinate teachers, journalists, social leaders, guerrilla fighters who accepted peace and have turned the country into the largest drug producer in the world”, he added.
“The United States and the Europeans are protecting those who carry the drug that is marketed and consumed in the United States and Europe. They are big consumers. It is a great truth,” Ortega continued.
The president of Colombia, Iván Duque, assured this Thursday that his Government will not allow Nicaragua limit the rights of their country in the Caribbean Sea, nor those of the Raizal community of the archipelago of San Andrés and Providencia.
Duque reacted in this way after learning of the new ICJ ruling that considered that Colombia had violated Nicaragua’s “sovereignty and jurisdiction” in its own Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by authorizing fishing activities in Nicaraguan waters, and ordered it to “cease immediately” their conduct.
“My government, until next August 7, will continue with the superior task of preventing Nicaragua from limiting or trying to limit the rights of Colombia,” Duque said in a statement to the country from the island of San Andrés, accompanied by the vice president and foreign minister. , Marta Lucía Ramírez, the military and police leadership and other authorities.
Ortega: Colombian president insulted Nicaragua
Ortega referred to the reactions of the Colombian president, pointing out that he is acting in tune with the “imperialist policies of his protectors”, alluding to the United States and the European community, and demanded full compliance with the sentence established by the ICJ.
“The president of Colombia instead of saying, ‘we are going to abide by the sentence,’ what he did was insult, attack Nicaragua, betting that they are not going to move from their positions. What makes them so challenging? They are behaving just like their great protectors, the North American rulers. And who governs the United States? The big arms manufacturers,” he noted.
Attorney Paul Reichler explained in an email to CONFIDENTIAL that “The Court confirmed the validity of its November 2012 judgment in favor of Nicaragua, and strengthened it. Second, the Court declared that Colombia’s claims to exercise its sovereignty and jurisdiction in the Nicaraguan Exclusive Economic Zone under the 2012 ruling violated Nicaragua’s rights, and Colombia’s legal obligations under the 2012 ruling, and the right international”.
Reichler served Nicaragua in the ICJ for more than twenty years until his resignation on March 27, in which he said that his “moral conscience” required him to cut ties, while questioning Daniel Ortega for destroying democracy in the construction of the country and establishing a new dictatorship.
Ortega insisted that the territorial waters of Nicaragua are constantly navigated by Colombian warships, making, according to the ruler, an ostentation of his military superiority.
“The same behavior as their bosses,” says the dictator
“Since 2012, these ships have been moving in those waters that the Colombian State has ignored. We hope that the words expressed by the president of Colombia are just that, words, and do not go on to try to violate what is a right that has been recognized since 2012 by the International Court of Justice,” Ortega said.
“We see them with the same behavior as their employers. Because the United States Government does the same. We are not going to forget the historic decision to put an end to the terrorism that the Yankee rulers practiced in Nicaragua throughout that period of the 1980s,” he added.
The president insisted that the Nicaraguan Naval Force will increase its patrols in the territorial waters recognized in the ICJ ruling. “We demand, we demand that the Government of Colombia abide by the ruling. Take a step in respect of international law and peace”, he affirmed.
The constant references made by Ortega to Colombia classifying it as a “narco-state” added to the demands of the South American country for a reestablishment of democracy in the country, have considerably deteriorated relations between the two nations.
On February 24, 2022 the the Ortega regime withdrew his credentials to the Colombian ambassador in Nicaragua, Alfredo Rangel Suárez. The measure occurred hours after the Colombian government ordered its diplomatic representative to return to the country after Ortega accused the Iván Duque Administration of being a “narco-state” in a speech.
Colombia ordered its ambassador “to present a note of protest to the Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry,” in which, according to Foreign Minister Denis Moncada Colindres, Rangel Suárez “insolently makes value judgments about the internal affairs of Nicaragua and impudently offends the Nicaraguan State and its people.” ”.
