Diplomatic Tensions Deepen; Ortega Claims "US Interference" and States "No More Elections"

After Nicaragua rejected the incoming U.S. ambassador nominee, the U.S. State Department recalled the chargé d'affaires leading the American mission in the country.

According to Reuters on the 13th (local time), the U.S. State Department announced that Elias Baumann, the chargé d'affaires to Nicaragua, has returned to Washington, D.C., for "urgent consultations" following the Nicaraguan authorities' rejection of U.S. ambassador nominee Natasha Franceschi.

The State Department criticized the decision by Nicaraguan co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, stating it demonstrates "the hypocrisy of their rhetoric about mutual respect and their desire to engage in political theater at the expense of the Nicaraguan people."

Ortega, who has maintained a long-term rule since 2007, secured his fourth consecutive term in the 2021 election. In 2018, violent suppression of anti-government protests resulted in bloodshed, leaving over 300 people dead.

Last year, a constitutional amendment extended the presidential term from five to six years and changed the traditional president-vice president structure to a dual presidency consisting of a male president and a female president, making Murillo—previously the vice president and Ortega's wife—the co-president.

In July, President Ortega declared, "There will be no elections involving parties put forward by the United States," adding, "There will be no more elections in Nicaragua." He has consistently accused the U.S. government of attempting to meddle in internal affairs by mobilizing bodies such as the Central American Parliament (PARLACEN) and the Organization of American States (OAS).

Meanwhile, the United States previously pointed out that the security agencies of "a country outside the Western Hemisphere" are training Nicaraguan police and sharing intelligence, though it did not specify which country. Nicaragua maintains security cooperation agreements with Russia and China.

[ⓒ Global Economic Times. 무단전재-재배포 금지]