Q COSTARICA — Despite international concerns about human rights violations in Nicaragua, President Laura Fernández defended maintaining a cordial relationship with the neighbouring country.
“We maintain a long-standing trade relationship… we don’t have extensive diplomatic channels, but we do have a cordial relationship between two nations that share a border,” Fernández stated during an interview with NTN24.
The president avoided elaborating on the allegations of a lack of democratic freedoms in Nicaragua, arguing that each nation defines its own political path and distinguishing Nicaragua’s situation from that of Cuba and Venezuela in economic terms.
“God be with Nicaragua, God be with Costa Rica, and God be with all of them, with their internal problems and the form of government they have chosen, and we here are maintaining a peaceful and harmonious neighborly relationship in every way possible,” Fernández affirmed.
The statements prompted an immediate reaction from former President Laura Chinchilla (2010-2014), who apologized to the Nicaraguan people and noted that the last three presidential elections in Nicaragua have been widely questioned by international organizations.
“I apologize to the sisters and brothers of Nicaragua for the atrocious statements made by the president of my country,” Chinchilla wrote on her social media.
Chinchilla was very concerned by two phrases by Fernández: “Nicaraguans have the form of government they have chosen to have” and “God is with Nicaragua.”
Chinchilla said Fernández is ignoring that the last three “re-elections” (2011, 2016, 2021) organized by the Ortega-Murillo regime were questioned by international observers.
Chinchilla added that “In the last election (in 2021), seven presidential candidates were imprisoned or disqualified.”
“Concealed under a supposed ‘economic stability’ the suffering to which the Nicaraguan people have been subjected by the dictatorship: more than 350 murders; more than 120 cases of forced disappearance; more than 1,000 opponents detained; more than 5,000 civil society organizations closed; dozens of universities shut down; and documented transnational repression, which includes the vile murder in Costa Rican territory of Roberto Samcam,” said Chinchilla.
The strongest reaction by Chinchilla: “There are two possible explanations for such a blunder: ignorance or indifference. If it is the former, it shames the country; if it is the latter, it dishonors our tradition of absolute condemnation of tyrannies and does not represent the majority sentiment of us Costa Ricans.”
Former President Luis Guillermo Solís (2014-2018) also offered criticism.
“This has been confirmed by multiple independent human rights organizations, including the United Nations itself. Furthermore, the president has stated that the Nicaraguan population in Costa Rica represents 25% of the total. This is entirely false, as that percentage fluctuates between 7% and 10%, considering that many of them are already Costa Rican citizens, and that others live in our country only seasonally, following the harvest cycles,” Solís asserted.
Legisaltor and former First Lady of Costa Rica (2018-2022), Claudia Dobles, strongly criticized the president’s stance on her social media, stating that Costa Rica should not validate authoritarian regimes.
Miguel Mendoza, the exiled Nicaraguan journalist described the statement by Fernández as “disappointing and clumsy.” He also denounced the Costa Rican president for deliberately ignoring the humanitarian crisis and the systematic violation of freedoms in Nicaragua.
#TORPEZA | Qué decepcionante la presidenta de Costa Rica, Laura Fernández, durante una entrevista en NTN24. Destrozó a las dictaduras de Cuba y Venezuela, pero cuando le preguntaron sobre la tiranía que vive Nicaragua, pintó la situación como si estuviéramos en un paraíso,… pic.twitter.com/wGu0Rx2CBQ
— Miguel Mendoza (@Mmendoza1970) June 13, 2026