EU Declares Nicaragua Envoy 'Persona Non Grata'

Improve the News Foundation -

Facts

  • The EU on Monday declared the head of the Nicaraguan mission to the European Union, Zoila Yanira Müller Goff, "persona non grata" amid deteriorating political relations between Managua and Brussels.
  • According to the EU, the decision was a "reciprocal response" after Managua declared the EU ambassador to Nicaragua, Bettina Muscheidt, "persona non grata" on Sept. 28. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned what he considered a "hostile and unjustified" decision.
  • With Managua reportedly jailing dozens of political opponents, students, and journalists, the EU also announced on Monday that Brussels would continue to support democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in Nicaragua.
  • Previously, Nicaraguan Vice Pres. and wife of Pres. Daniel Ortega, Rosario Murillo, said on Sept. 30 that the new US ambassador to the Central American country, Hugo Rodriguez, would be prohibited from entering the country over the diplomat's alleged "interventionist" behavior.
  • On the same day, the Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry announced that it was severing diplomatic ties with the Netherlands, accusing the Dutch government of interfering in the country's internal affairs and of "neocolonialist" activities. Earlier, the Netherlands reportedly withdrew its funding for a Nicaraguan hospital.
  • Tensions between Managua and the West reached a new high after Brussels and Washington reinforced sanctions against Nicaragua in January over alleged human rights violations. The move came after Ortega was sworn in for a fourth consecutive term following elections the West called a "sham."

Sources: Al Jazeera, Brussels Times, Euractiv, DW, and Wio.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by LA Times. The sanctions and political pressure from the West are justified, as the Ortega-Murillo regime has long made Nicaragua one of the most corrupt and poorest countries in the Western hemisphere. Moreover, the dictatorship has betrayed the ideals of the Sandinista Revolution, with human rights and democratic principles trampled on daily.
  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Diplomat. The West is only interested in human rights in Global South countries that don't bend to its will. To this day, Washington hasn't forgiven Nicaragua for being the first Latin American country to free itself from US hegemony through the Sandinista Revolution. It's purely geostrategic interests that prompt Washington and the EU to demand so-called "democracy" for Nicaragua.