Ortega further isolates Nicaragua by severing ties with the Netherlands and rejecting the US ambassador.

Daniel Ortega’s government severed diplomatic ties with the Netherlands and rejected the presence of a new ambassador appointed by the United States, deepening Nicaragua’s isolation from the international community on Friday. “In light of the reiterated intervention and new colonial status of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (…) Nicaragua, we are informing the government of that country of our decision to immediately suspend diplomatic relations,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

The move was announced shortly after Ortega said at an official event that his government did not want to have relations with the Netherlands. “We don’t want relations with this interventionist government,” he said, referring to the European country.

The president responded in this way when the Dutch ambassador to Central America, Christine Byrne, visited Managua on Thursday from Costa Rica, where his diplomatic headquarters are located. Hospital. The move enraged Ortega, who said: “Out… let him scream what he wants, all his suffering… out.”

Hours earlier, Vice President and First Lady Rosario Murillo reiterated that US-designated Ambassador Hugo Rodriguez would not be “allowed” for his “interventionist positions” in Nicaragua. Managua had earlier voiced his opposition to the nomination on July 28, but on Thursday the US Senate confirmed his nomination.

“Mr Hugo Rodríguez, we repeat, will not be allowed in our Nicaragua under any circumstances, so the imperialists are clear: Hugo Rodríguez does not enter here”, announced Murillo while reading a note from the presidential palace in the official press. Managua recalled that Rodriguez had his diplomatic clearance revoked in July for “disrespectful” statements during a hearing in the US Senate.

Hugo Rodríguez said Nicaragua was “increasingly becoming a giant within the region” and called the Ortega government a dictatorship. He also supported Nicaragua’s withdrawal from CAFTA (the Free Trade Agreement between Central America, the Dominican Republic and the United States). Murillo considered the United States’ decision to uphold Rodriguez’s candidacy “extraordinary,” calling it a “disrespectful intervention without diplomacy.” He was appointed by President Joe Biden to replace Kevin Sullivan.

“We reiterate not only our rejection, but also our inflexible position of national dignity that completely ignores US intervention and imperialist activities,” Rosario said. Last Wednesday, the Ortega government asked the European Union (EU) ambassador to Nicaragua, Bettina Musheid, to leave, according to diplomatic sources and local press. The reason for the action is unknown.

The request to leave, which will take effect on Saturday, comes after Nicaragua issued a plea to “end the repression” and restore “democracy” of protesters, priests and independent media, according to the press. The international community is demanding the government release more than 200 opponents, including seven former presidential candidates who were sentenced this year to eight to 13 years in prison for “undermining national unity” and other charges.

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