The United States appointed Carla Fleharty as Minister Counselor of its embassy in Nicaragua, after the Government of President Daniel Ortega reject the diplomat Hugo Rodríguez as the new ambassador in Managua, as had been proposed by the White House.
The US embassy in Managua reported this Thursday that Fleharty, a career diplomat from the US Foreign Service, assumed the position of minister-counselor at that headquarters on August 31, 2022.
The Embassy has a new Minister Counselor! We welcome Carla Fleharty who took office yesterday: “I am delighted to be in Nicaragua, ready to start my work. Thank you for having us!” Bio: https://t.co/plAi0hJL1t pic.twitter.com/kfIsN235n9
— USEmbassy Nicaragua (@USEmbNicaragua) September 1, 2022
Fleharty has served as executive director of the US State Department’s Bureau for Western Hemisphere Affairs, the diplomatic delegation said in a statement.
Fleharty joined the State Department in 1999 and has served abroad in Yaoundé, London, Dakar, Islamabad, Montevideo and Santiago, according to the information.
Her assignments in the United States include positions in the Operations Center, Office of the Secretary, officer in charge of Europe, special assistant to the Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, and deputy director of the Florida Regional Center, she noted.
Fleharty holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and communication from the College of the Ozarks, a master’s degree in international relations from Webster University, and a master’s degree in military arts and sciences from the US Army Command and General Staff College.
She is married to Michael Fleharty and speaks French and Spanish.
Retirement of welcome to new ambassador
On July 28, the Government of Managua withdrew the approval granted to Hugo Rodríguez as the new US ambassador to Nicaragua, after his presentation to the US Senate.
Hours earlier, during the confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rodríguez had responded to a question from Republican Senator Marco Rubio about whether Nicaragua meets the requirements to continue to be part of the Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Central America and the Republic of Nicaragua. Dominican (DR-Cafta, for its acronym in English).
The diplomat replied that “I would support the use of all economic and diplomatic tools to achieve a change of direction in Nicaragua. Taking Nicaragua out of DR-Cafta is a potentially very powerful tool and something we have to seriously consider.”
“If they confirm me, I promise to work with the USTR (Office of the Foreign Trade Representative) and other agencies within the United States Government, to evaluate all possible means to exert that pressure on Nicaragua,” Rodríguez added.
Days later, on August 2, President Ortega ratified that they would not accept Rodríguez as US ambassador to Managua.
Ortega confirmed that they had granted the placet to Rodríguez, but that it was withdrawn after “he started talking like he was a William Walker (American filibuster who tried to take over Central America in the mid-nineteenth century) and that he is going to be the Governor of Nicaragua and that he is going to come to end the Government of Nicaragua.”
The US was one of the countries that rejected the controversial general elections held on November 7 in Nicaragua, in which Ortega, close to turning 77, was re-elected for a fifth term, fourth in a row and second along with his wife, Rosario Murillo, as vice president, with her main contenders in prison.
The United States is Nicaragua’s main trading partner, the main source of family remittances and in the last four years the most desired destination by Nicaraguan migrants.
