Member countries of the European Union did not object to the appointment of Werner Vargas -candidate of the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo- as secretary general of the Central American Integration System (SICA), to unlock 153 million dollars from a fund planned to be executed by this regional organization, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Arnoldo André Tinoco reiterated during an appearance at the National University of Costa Rica.
Foreign Minister André Tinoco participated this Wednesday, August 17 as a special guest to offer the Inaugural Lecture of the second cycle 2022 of the School of International Relations of the National University of Costa Rica and briefly referred to the funds committed to SICA with the election of its general secretary.
He insisted that it did not represent a “back” to the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, who were the ones who proposed Werner Vargas to take office, after three failed attempts that caused SICA to be headless for more than a year.
The international affairs analyst and university professor, Carlos Murillo Zamorawas present during the inaugural lecture and questioned Foreign Minister André Tinoco’s arguments to justify the Costa Rican support to the Ortega candidate.
“Of course it was a boost from Costa Rica to the Ortega and Murillo regime. Werner Vargas as Secretary General, due to the commitment of the Ortega Murillo regime, will never question or do anything against them”, he opined.
“Of course, no aid worker is going to object to a decision about who or what person they put in the general secretariat of SICA. Excuse the term, that’s nonsense. The aid workers are not going to say that, because that is interference in the affairs of the countries grouped in SICA. It is an argument without much validity and legitimacy. What the Costa Rican foreign minister is doing is justifying a decision, which has no justification,” concluded Murillo Zamora.
“The chancellor explained that the 153 million dollars come from international donors grouped mainly in the European Union. He mentioned that they are projects from last year and they are different. That even in some cases, they were not going to be executed only by the general secretariat of SICA, but by the undersecretaries of SICA and other areas of the organization, for which the signature of the general secretary is required, “said Murillo Zamora.
According to your LinkedIn professional profilethe new general secretary of SICA served as former executive director of the same organization between 2014 and 2020, when the president of that same organization was the Guatemalan Vinicio Cerezo.
He is a specialist in human rights and public international law, two areas in which precisely the Nicaraguan dictatorship is questioned for the abuses against its citizens.
Costa Rican Foreign Minister consulted donors
“The foreign minister mentioned that he consulted with the cooperating countries, which expressed that they had no objection to whoever was appointed as secretary general of SICA. He insisted that these funds are for cooperation projects, but did not specify which projects. He did not explain if they were for the social, economic or consulting areas, but insisted that they originate in different cooperating countries of the European Union”, added the university professor.
One day before the election of Werner Vargas as Secretary General of SICA, Costa Rican Foreign Minister André Tinoco stated in a statement published on Aug 10to on the website of his Ministry, that at least 153 million dollars were stranded because the agency was headless. He did not elaborate on the use or origin of these funds.
“It also did not clarify whether these funds were for regional projects, which covered all the countries in the area, or for projects that only include some countries, such as the Northern Triangle projects for Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, which are channeled through SICA” Murillo Zamora commented.
“He did not provide much information on the use of those resources and I do not see it feasible for there to be more information, because deep down they are using this donation argument that could not be executed because there was no general secretary, to justify the evident and manifest support that all the Central American presidents and foreign ministers to the regime of Ortega and Murillo”, opined the analyst.
Regime celebrated appointment of Werner Vargas
In a statement after the appointment of Werner Vargas, the Nicaraguan regime celebrated that Central America “has come together again as forces of glory”, committed to continue working together, consolidating peace.
“We are going forward and always beyond, in the words of our heroes and founding fathers who dreamed of a Central America of union, peace, work and future,” said the statement signed by Ortega and his wife and Vice President Rosario Murillo.
Former President Chinchilla: an act of “claudication”
The former president of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, considered that the election of Werner Varga as secretary general of SICA was an act of “capturing” in the face of the “cruelest dictatorship” that has ever existed in the region.
“The more Daniel Ortega isolates himself from the world, the more he entrenches himself in Central America,” Chinchilla said in an interview. for This weekOh Confidencehe.
The former president mentioned in her appearance that, first with the support of the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), and now with the general secretariat of SICA, Ortega will be able to “expand the borders of her influence”, when other Central American countries “follow the path of authoritarianism.
Former Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada also questioned via Twitter the vote delivered by the authorities of his country in favor of Ortega’s candidate.
“With the vote of Costa Rica, the representative of the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, which violates human rights, persecutes the media and journalists, and holds political prisoners in inhuman conditions, will lead SICA,” former President Alvarado wrote on the web. Social.
