Brazil expels Nicaraguan ambassador in response to Managua move — MercoPress

Brazil expels Nicaraguan ambassador in response to Managua move

Ortega never responded to Lula’s request for direct talks with jailed clergy

The Brazilian government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Thursday expelled Nicaraguan Ambassador to Brazil Fulvia Patricia Castro Matus from Brasilia in retaliation for Managua’s decision to send back Breno Dias da Costa after he failed to attend the 45th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution on July 19, the Brazilian news agency Brasil reported.

The Daniel Ortega regime informed Itamaraty of the decision regarding Dias da Costa two weeks ago. However, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that these measures do not mean a diplomatic breakdown and that all counseling services for Brazilians living in Nicaragua will remain. It is estimated that around 180 Brazilians live in this Central American country.

In fact, the expulsion of the ambassador would lower the level of representation of Nicaragua in Brazil and Brazil in Nicaragua. This is because the ambassador is the highest level of representation of a country in another country. The Brazilian news agency also explained that in international relations, the expulsion of an ambassador is a political gesture that usually expresses displeasure.

Relations between Brasilia and Managua have been strained since Lula, at the request of Pope Francis, tried to broker the release of a bishop jailed by Nicaraguan authorities. Lula told foreign journalists last month that Ortega had not responded to his requests to talk.

Nicaragua has been criticized by international human rights groups and some countries, notably the United States, who accuse Ortega of suppressing the opposition and persecuting critics through arbitrary jailings.

Amnesty International claimed earlier this year that “at least 119 people have been arbitrarily detained after unfair trials, including Matagalpa Catholic Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who was sentenced to 26 years in prison for conspiracy and spreading false news.”

Nicaragua has also suffered international isolation, including economic sanctions imposed by the United States in an attempt to isolate the Central American country economically.

In 1979, Ortega led an uprising that overthrew the Somoza family’s 40-year dictatorship.