Brian NicholsUnder Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs of State at USAconfirmed that there are no recent rapprochements between the Daniel Ortega regime and the North American country.
The US official’s statements come after sources affirmed that Ortega could be seeking a dialogue with the international community so that sanctions may be lifted in exchange for the release of a group of political prisoners.
“Nerd. Our port is open if they want to talk, but there has been no communication,” Nichols told Voice of America on Friday, January 6.
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“The regime of (Daniel) Ortega and (Rosario) Murillo has rejected the OAS (Organization of American States) missions to discuss the situation within the country, has rejected the repeated calls from the international community to release political prisoners. , he has treated his people horribly, he has prohibited medical care for them, in short, it is an extremely serious situation; closing churches, expelling priests and ambassadors,” the official explained.
He reiterated that the United States is willing to come closer if the Ortega regime shows signs of a change of course.
«(USA) we are always willing to respond to positive steps and there is an opportunity to change (Ortega) his actions to respect the minimum rights of the people, but that starts with them (the regime) releasing political prisoners in their country. », he stated.
“There is a way out if they release the political prisoners, if they start a dialogue with the opposition and the international community to respect fundamental rights, we are very open to talking with them about that, but it really depends on them,” Nichols said.
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Regarding the sanctions against the Government of Nicaragua, he affirmed that the United States remains “willing to take advantage of the tools we have” to continue putting pressure on the regime to achieve a way out of the crisis.
He recalled that the United States Government has sanctioned members of the regime in hundreds of cases, and also sectors of the economy such as the gold sector.
Humberto Ortega liaison between the United States-Daniel Ortega?
According to the sources, Daniel Ortega would have turned to his brother, the retired general Humberto Ortega, so that this is the bridge between the two parties. However, the Nicaraguan dictatorship rejected the version and maintained that the recent conversations between the Ortegas responded to “humanitarian” reasons.
In May 2022, the American newspaper The New York Times revealed that Laureano Ortega Murillo, son of the dictatorial couple, would have sought dialogue with the United States with the aim of obtaining “sanctions relief for his family.” Although State Department sources later confirmed that there was a “bilateral communication”the alleged rapprochement would have cooled.
