The Nicaraguan officials Friday accused members of Congress with carrying out an intimidation and disinformation campaign against the government. They called a House proposal, led by Miami Republican Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, to restrict the President Daniel Ortega government’s access to loans a violation of international agreements.
“We reject as a violation of International Law and the United Nations Charter, the proposals and Initiatives presented in the House of Representatives and the Senate of the United States that are part of a pattern of historic interventionist policies in our Rightful and Sovereign Political, Social and Economic Processes, especially in an intensive way during Electoral Moments,” government said in a statement.
Concern in Washington about Nicaragua has grown as the government has cozied up with the Russian military and Ortega has sought to build his authoritarian power. He’s running for a third consecutive term and has refused U.S. and its allies calls to allow international monitors to observer the election.
We reject as a violation of International Law and the United Nations Charter, the proposals and Initiatives presented in the House of Representatives.
Nicaraguan government
The House unanimously passed legislation introduced by Ros-Lehtinen and Rep. Albio Sires, D-N.J. Wednesday that places U.S. restrictions on loans to the Ortega government unless it accepts international observers and other steps that show its willingness to hold free and fair elections. It also calls for the State Department to report on corruption and human rights violations by the Nicaraguan Supreme Electoral Council and National Assembly.
On Friday, Ros-Lehtinen called the Nicaraguan accusations against her and other members of Congress baseless. She said they were another attempt to detract attention away from his government’s human rights abuses and acts of corruption.
“Nobody is being fooled,” Ros-Lehtinen said in a statement, adding. “The reality is that he is merely projecting his acts of repression on me and demonstrating his unease that the international community has begun to take notice of the way he has eroded democratic processes in Nicaragua.”
Ortega’s baseless accusations are just his latest attempt to detract attention away from the human rights abuses and the acts of corruption and intimidation he has been perpetrating in Nicaragua, but nobody is being fooled.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen
The Nicaraguan government, in its statement, described the legislation and a companion Senate bill, as part of a campaign against democratic and progressive movements in Latin American and the Caribbean. The officials cited high approval ratings about the upcoming Nov. 6 election Nicaragua and said the government is committed to “Peace, Security, Safety and Democracy.
Email: fordonez@mcclatchydc.com; Twitter: @francoordonez.