On Tuesday 6 July, all political groups in the European Parliament, except for The Left, supported the introduction of new sanctions against the Ortega regime. These directly target the former Sandinista leader, who has been in power since 2007, in response to the continuing repression in Nicaragua (see EUROPE 12739/26).
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, recalled the “gradual approach” of the EU-27 towards the Central American country, which combines the search for dialogue and the adoption of targeted sanctions against six Nicaraguan officials who have committed human rights violations (see EUROPE 12480/12).
“Nicaragua has entered a spiral of repression. Everything indicates that the situation can get worse”, Borrell said, citing the arrest of several candidates in the November presidential elections and, more recently, of student leaders. “We are discussing with the Member States further measures, starting certainly with new sanctions”, he added, as the Foreign Affairs Council is scheduled to meet on Monday 12 July. On the other hand, in his view, suspending cooperation and financial aid to the Nicaraguans will not weaken Ortega’s position.
Leopoldo López Gil (EPP, Spain) denounced a political “farce” designed to keep Ortega in power indefinitely. “Democracy is dying in Nicaragua”, said Javi López (S&D, Spanish). Denouncing more than 300 political assassinations since 2018, María Soraya Rodríguez Ramos (Renew Europe, Spain) called for sanctions against the “family conglomerate” that dominates Nicaragua. Tilly Metz (Greens/EFA, Luxembourg) said the human rights clause in the bilateral cooperation agreement should be activated. Marco Campomenosi (Identity and Democracy, Italy) mentioned the fact that Ortega protects Alessio Casimirri, a member of the commando unit that assassinated former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro in 1978. Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba are all part of the same fight, according to Hermann Tertsch (ECR, Spain).
Only Manu Pineda (The Left, Spain) denounced the partiality of the Parliament, which is quick to denounce the excesses of far-left governments in Latin America, but silent on the ongoing repression in Colombia or the forced removal of Dilma Rousseff in Brazil. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)