CDN-Monteverde concludes successful advocacy tour in three Southern Cone countries

The first and most visible sign of the impact of the recent international tour made by a delegation of the Nicaraguan Democratic Concertation, CDN-Monteverde through Paraguay, Argentina, and Chile, is the outburst of insults and laments with which Rosario Murillo referred to the opposition in the context of this advocacy work that began in the framework of the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS).

For the Ortega Murillo regime, it was a major political defeat that countries governed by the left, with which they identify themselves, turned their backs on them and voted unanimously with the rest of the region in favor of the resolution passed by the OAS General Assembly. The resolution condemned the actions of a State that violates human rights and democratic principles and demanded that the crimes committed should not remain in impunity.

For them, it was a strong blow because this condemnation and demand was not only endorsed by leaders such as Joe Biden (United States) and Justin Trudeau (Canada), whom they call imperialists but also by their allies, Manuel Andrés López Obrador of Mexico, Gustavo Petro of Colombia, Luis Arce of Bolivia, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil and Xiomara Castro of Honduras.

Although these leaders share a common ideological affinity to that which the Ortega Murillo family also claims, they voted against a regime that day by day violates the human rights of its citizens, dismantles the rule of law, and copies the worst practices of dictatorial systems such as the Russian, Chinese or North Korean ones. Furthermore, they threaten the democratic stability of the region.

Forced with the decision not to complain against those who turned their backs on them, they showed their anger against the opposition, which constantly denounced them in all possible spaces.

The CDN-Monteverde has denounced the Ortega regime and will continue to do so before the British Parliament, the European Parliament, the American Congress, the OAS, the United Nations (UN), government representatives, human rights organizations, and all possible forums.

Nicaragua is no longer a member of the OAS. To ensure that its situation was present at the General Assembly held in Asuncion, Paraguay, we worked for several months with the members of the Group of Volunteer Countries for Nicaragua. The support of the Chilean mission to the OAS was fundamental in advancing the cause for the release of political prisoners and the restitution of the civil and political rights of Nicaraguans, which received full support from the continent’s countries.

After the victory at the OAS, the work of denouncing the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship took us to Argentina and Chile, where the Nicaraguan issue, beyond the governments and certain organizations, is not so well known, so it is essential to make these informative tours to bring it to a wider audience.

In Buenos Aires and Santiago, we met with representatives of government institutions, civil society organizations, political parties, business organizations, academics, media, and prominent personalities. And in a sign that the magnitude of the human rights and repression crisis facing Nicaraguans transcends ideological positions, we found Argentina governed by the right and Chile by the left, alarmed by what is happening and interested in finding a solution.

In all spaces, the expression of solidarity and concern for those who are still imprisoned in Nicaragua and those who were expelled and deprived of their rights and nationality was resounding.

Coverage by the mainstream media was exceptional and this contributed to making the Nicaraguan reality more widely known within these countries.

The openness we found on the part of the political class to analyze actions in favor of freedom and democracy in Nicaragua was very encouraging.  Following the call of the OAS resolution to act, we are promoting work with a Group of Friendly Countries, different from the OAS Voluntary Group, which seeks to include representations from both Latin America and Europe, to promote actions and a joint strategy with the international community.

From the CDN-Monteverde we will continue to promote the actions promoted in this tour, and we will continue to denounce and show the true face and narrative of the Nicaraguan dictatorship.