Nicaraguan government withdraws its “approval” of U.S. ambassadorial nominee

The Government of Nicaragua has withdrawn Thursday its approval to the candidate for U.S. ambassador to the country, Hugo Rodriguez, after he appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee advocating for the return to democracy and the cessation of human rights violations.

“The Government of Nicaragua, in use of its faculties and in exercise of its national sovereignty, immediately withdraws the approval granted to the postulant Hugo Rodriguez,” Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada said in a statement, alleging that Rodriguez would have made “interfering and disrespectful statements,” as reported by ‘Confidencial’.

Moncada has justified the decision by stating that the ambassador, by virtue of the Vienna Convention, “cannot get involved in national issues that are proper of Nicaraguans and much less disrespect, offend, humiliate, threaten, star or be a factor of interference or interventionism in the internal affairs of our country.”

The U.S. candidate for ambassador to Nicaragua has affirmed during the Commission that during the elections held in the Latin American country in 2021 — when Daniel Ortega revalidated his position for another five more years –, Nicaraguans were deprived “of any real option, and the hopes of democracy and prosperity of Nicaraguans vanished”, as reported by the newspaper ‘La Prensa’.

“I commit myself to work with Congress, inter-institutional colleagues and international partners to press for the return to democracy, respect for human rights and the freedom of political prisoners in Nicaragua,” said Rodriguez during his speech in the Senate committee, referring to the more than 180 alleged political prisoners held in jails by the country’s Executive.

Likewise, the ambassadorial candidate has stressed that hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans “are now refugees” due to the “failure of the Ortega government to meet the basic needs of the people.”

Finally, Rodriguez has expressed that, despite not agreeing with the actions of the current Government of the country, the relationship between Nicaragua and the United States “is much deeper than political leadership,” stressing that “more than 400,000 people of Nicaraguan descent live in the United States.”

“We will do what we can to offer the Nicaraguan people a better future in their own country. We know that addressing the root causes of irregular migration and forced displacement, throughout Central America, including Nicaragua, means ensuring respect for human rights, generating economic opportunities and improving citizen security,” concluded the hitherto ambassadorial candidate.