Despite Nicaragua’s accusations of “interference” against Hugo Rodríguez, the nominee by President Joe Biden as ambassador to Managua, the White House remains firm in its decision on Rodríguez, he told the press on Monday. voice of america a spokesman for the Biden administration.
Last week, the government of President Ortega reported that it was “immediately withdrawing the approval granted to the applicant” Hugo Rodriguez as US ambassador in Managua, arguing that he himself had become involved “in national issues”.
At his confirmation hearing, Rodríguez noted that there are more than 180 political prisoners in Nicaragua, including opposition figures, student leaders and journalists. He also stated that the Ortega government has shut down civic space and canceled hundreds of non-profit organizations.
Rodríguez acted “faithfully and respectfully to the policy of the United States,” which has criticized the Daniel Ortega administration for undermining democracy and violating human rights, the Biden administration spokesman said.
What’s next now?
At the moment it is unknown what will happen after the friction between Managua and Washington, which has decided to keep Rodríguez’s candidacy firm.
According to former Nicaraguan diplomat Arturo McFields, the US could consider applying a “reciprocity” measure and say that Managua “doesn’t want an ambassador in Washington either, and leave the bilateral relationship at the charge d’affaires level.
Although other analysts consider that it would be a bad message for the US, Nicaragua’s main trading partner and where a good number of remittances come from, and it would set the country back just as it did in the 1980s, during its first administration.
“Ortega ran the nuncio; he ran nuns, he has imprisoned priests; he has business leaders imprisoned and now he sharpens contradictions against the United States, the same route of the 1980s,” he said. Enriquez Saenz in your personal Facebook account.
The Ortega government has maintained a confrontational posture with the United States since its return to power in 2007; however, in 2018 it worsened with the political crisis in Managua where the government repressed protests that left more than 300 dead.
Ortega said that it was an attempted coup against his government and that it was allegedly “sponsored” by the United States, with whom he recently said that he had no interest in dialogue. “It would be like putting a rope around your neck,” Ortega harangued on July 19, during a celebration for the anniversary of the Sandinista revolution.
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