Colombia’s new government is refraining from criticizing or condemning Nicaragua’s under Daniel Ortega for “strategic reasons,” Colombian Foreign Minister Alvaro Leyva said Tuesday.
After the election this summer of Gustavo Petros, the first president in the country’s history who belongs to the left, Colombia abstained on August 12 from a meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS) that condemned Mr. Ortega’s government, accusing it of persecution against it Roman Catholic Church, NGOs and the press.
In his official statement yesterday Tuesday, the Colombian Foreign Minister Leyva justified this absence citing “strategic” and “humanitarian” reasons, assuring that there was no “ideological motivation”.
“The new government of Colombia promotes and defends human rights both at home and abroad,” added Mr. Leyva.
This decision provoked strong criticism against the head of Colombian diplomacy, against whom the opposition intends to file a motion of impeachment in Congress.
Since taking office, President Petro has not addressed the political situation in Nicaragua, where authorities have in recent days placed under house arrest an archbishop who criticized Mr. Ortega, while seizing the headquarters of a historic opposition newspaper they plan to turn into a cultural center.
The US has condemned the “dramatic deterioration” in the human rights situation, Pope Francis has expressed “concern” about the situation and international organizations and non-governmental organizations have criticized restrictions on civil society and the opposition.
Colombia’s first leftist government restored the country’s relations with Venezuela and Cuba, Nicaragua’s key allies in the region.
Representatives of Mr. Petro’s government have been holding talks with rebels of the National Liberation Army (ELN) in Havana for days, with a view to the resumption of peace negotiations.
In June 2021, during the days of the government of right-wing former president Ivan Duque, Colombia had recalled its ambassador to Managua for consultations, condemning the persecution of political opponents of Daniel Ortega. The Nicaraguan president reciprocated the measure and the bilateral relationship has not been restored since.
Colombia and Nicaragua are also litigants before the International Court of Justice in The Hague over their maritime borders in the Caribbean.
SOURCE: AMPE
Source: Capital
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