Q COSTA RICA — The U.S. State Department declined to endorse recent statements by President Laura Fernández, who asserted that Nicaraguans have “the form of government they have chosen,” and instead reiterated its view that the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo poses a threat to regional security and human rights.
“Rosario Murillo and Daniel Ortega, along with their accomplices, continue to threaten our national security interests in the region. Their facilitation of illegal immigration, the strengthening of hostile relations, and their human rights abuses and repression against Nicaraguans destabilize our hemisphere, challenging the Trump administration’s efforts to build security and prosperity,” stated the State Department spokesperson, who reiterated the accusations against the Nicaraguan dictatorship and its impact on hemispheric stability.
Fernández’s statements generated controversy in Costa Rica and Nicaragua because Costa Rica has historically been one of the main destinations for Nicaraguan exiles and one of the countries that has most frequently denounced the human rights situation in Nicaragua before international forums.
Although the State Department did not directly address concerns about the political impact of the Costa Rican president’s statements, it reaffirmed that the United States continues to view the Ortega-Murillo regime as a destabilizing regional factor and a threat to security and democracy in the hemisphere.
The US position also highlights the gap between Fernández’s assessment and Washington’s narrative of the political and human rights crisis Nicaragua is going through.