MANAGUA (Reuters) -Nicaragua’s ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS) on Wednesday condemned the government of President Daniel Ortega, accusing it of repressing the political opposition, human rights abuses and cracking down on freedom of speech.
Ambassador Arturo McFields said in a video address posted on Twitter by the OAS that he was speaking up on behalf of scores of political prisoners and people killed in the country since protests broke out against Ortega in 2018.
“Denouncing the dictatorship of my country is not easy,” he said. “But to continue remaining silent and defending the indefensible, is impossible.”
The government, which has long argued that opponents of Ortega have been attempting to oust him with foreign support, did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The ambassador also pointed to the closures of nongovernmental organizations and curbs on the media, and said elections in the Central American country were “not credible.”
McFields’ intervention came the same week that a judge sentenced former presidential candidate Cristiana Chamorro to eight years detention for financial crimes, in a case the opposition said was politically motivated.
McFields, a television journalist, took on his role as OAS ambassador in November.
Chamorro led Ortega in several polls when she was arrested last June. Ortega won re-election to serve a fourth consecutive term in November after at least 46 opposition figures, including six presidential candidates, were detained.
The United States and the European Union said Ortega’s last election was illegitimate and have pressed him to hold new elections and release more than 160 prisoners.
(Reporting by Ismael Lopez; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
