“Last Sunday the government of Ortega and Murillo consolidated its autocratic control over the Nicaraguan people by carrying out a false election,” so that in Nicaragua what exists today “is a dictatorship,” said the Tomorrow, Tuesday, November 9, Ricardo Zúniga, Principal Deputy Secretary of the Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the United States Department of State. In turn, he announced that they will not break diplomatic relations with Nicaragua, but they will raise the “costs” to the “accomplices” of the regime.
“These elections on the 7th do not have credibility as a democratic exercise, it cannot be said that the people supposedly elected under that process can be considered as the leaders chosen by the Nicaraguans. That they are in power, no one can deny it, that it is a dictatorship cannot be denied either. It is clearer than ever that Ortega and Murillo have imposed a dictatorship based on personalism and family power, with some elements that also support and facilitate that dictatorship, ”he explained.
On Monday, November 8, President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo proclaimed themselves the winners of a vote under their absolute control, after eliminating political competition – imprisoning seven presidential candidates and eliminating opposition parties – and with an abstention of 81.5%, as reported by the independent observatory Urnas Abiertas.
In his speech after the vote, Ortega reiterated and raised his hateful speech against political prisoners, calling them “sons of bitches of the Yankee imperialists.” “They should be taken to the United States, because those are not Nicaraguans, they have no country, so that there they serve for what they are, slaves of the empire, traitors of the country,” continued Ortega, angrily.
Zúniga called “ridiculous statements” what Ortega expressed. “This is not a chess game where they can use people as pieces,” he said, about Ortega’s “proposal” regarding the more than 150 political prisoners that he keeps in jails.
What comes next?
The US diplomat commented that Nicaraguans “want a future that only democracy can give them” and that “the United States and the international community are more determined than ever to help the Nicaraguan people in their efforts to achieve that democratic future.”
“I have spoken with numerous Nicaraguans about what they want, and what we are hearing is that they want their loved ones released from prison, they want repressive laws that limit freedom of expression and civil society to be overturned, they want a government that is accountable and that this includes a transparent political system that allows long-term investments and greater job opportunities, and a judicial system at the service of the people; they want to be able to elect their leaders in free and fair elections, ”he said.
Zúniga announced that, in the General Assembly of the Organization of American States that begins this Wednesday, November 10, they propose to maintain a broad coalition and thus “urge a firm resolution that establishes a process
for the adoption of additional measures under the Inter-American Democratic Charter. The countries must demand, together, the restoration of democracy in Nicaragua and the immediate and unconditional release of political prisoners.
“It is important that all countries recognize what is happening and define, within the framework of the Democratic Charter, what the next steps would be. The expulsion of a country is a very serious matter, but we think that the important thing is to present the elements of the events that we have already seen in Nicaragua, and to have a lot of clarity within the organization about who we are dealing with in Nicaragua and who we are. trying to help as an international community ”, he explained.
Increase costs to “accomplices” of the regime
The senior official in the Administration of President Joe Biden also appreciated as positive the approval of the Reborn Act as the result of a bipartisan effort in the United States Congress, a norm that, when promulgated by Biden, will allow taking measures “against corrupt Nicaraguan actors” and “putting costs on Nicaraguans who are complicit in the abuses of the Ortega and Murillo government” in human rights abuses, corruption and the dismantling democracy, but that, in addition to sanctions, diplomacy is also a tool that they will use.
In addition, he stressed, that they act with the European Union, other American states and countries that support the return of democracy to Nicaragua and that, therefore, they are assessing the next measures together.
Zúniga also assured that “bipartisan attention -democrats and republicans- by the United States will continue to focus on the situation in Nicaragua.” “We are afraid that if there is no cost in the case of Nicaragua, if there is no regional effort to respond to events, this may happen in other countries.”
“Any setback in the democratic framework in the area is an issue that affects us all. It is not a question about the strategic policy of the United States, but it is an issue that affects us all because it weakens the consensus that has existed for so many years in favor of democracy as the best way to address the problems that affect to the towns, ”Zúniga explained.
