European Union ambassador leaves Nicaragua

European Union ambassador Bettina Muscheidt has left Nicaragua this Saturday on a flight to Mexico City, after being expelled by the country’s president, Daniel Ortega.

Muscheidt has arrived at the airport accompanied by several ambassadors of foreign countries, according to the Nicaraguan newspaper ‘La Prensa’.

The diplomat has taken a flight to Mexico, where she will make a stopover to take a second flight to Brussels. From the headquarters of the European Union, a response to the Ortega government for such measures is expected.

On Wednesday, the Nicaraguan president ordered the expulsion of Muscheidt, after the EU delegation to the United Nations last week demanded the release of political prisoners and the return of democracy to the people of Nicaragua.

Diplomatic sources confirmed to the newspaper ‘Confidencial’ that the ambassador would travel to Brussels this Saturday, as she had planned for several weeks. However, these sources did not reveal whether she would return to Nicaragua to resume her diplomatic mission.

In addition to the expulsion, the ambassador was declared persona non grata in the country, alleging that it was due to the EU’s “interference and disrespect to national sovereignty”.

Bettina Muscheidt took up her post in September 2021 after serving as head of the European Union Delegation to Yemen and Libya.