Sergio Massa: “Neither in Nicaragua nor in any country in the region can tolerate political prisoners”

Washington DC Special Envoy – The president of the National Chamber of Deputies, Sergio Massa, spoke of the condemnation by the OAS of the Daniel Ortega regime in Nicaragua, and differentiated from the Argentinian position by arguing that “It is intolerable that there are political prisoners”.

“Neither in Nicaragua nor in any country in the region can tolerate political prisoners”, said Massa in a presentation to Inter-American Dialogue and before heading to New York, part two of his tour of the United States

“Argentina is concerned and occupied with the situation in Nicaragua, it is important that the region commits to release political prisoners”He said and added: “Nicaragua or any other country should not be able to stop politicians. This is the key to democracy”.

The president of the Chamber of Deputies did not name Luis Almagro, secretary general of the OAS, but he implied the same thing that the government had already expressed in Buenos Aires: it was the will not to give to the Uruguayan the direction of the resolution of the Nicaraguan crisis, which led Argentina to abstain, a vote which was a “disappointment” for the United States, according to a spokesperson for the State Department . Infobae.

The resolution of the OAS asked the “Immediate launch” opposition candidates arrested, as well as that of all prisoners for political reasons in Nicaragua. In addition, he urged the Ortega regime to apply all international standards that correspond to the holding of free and fair elections on November 7, “Including the warm welcome of trustworthy election observers from the OAS and other countries.

The resolution was approved with 26 votes in favor, 3 against and 5 abstentions. The countries that voted in favor of the resolution were El Salvador, the United States, Guyana, Guatemala, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Saint Kitts and Nevis , Saint Lucia, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia and Costa Rica. Nicaragua, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Bolivia voted against. And Honduras, Mexico, Argentina, Belize and Dominica abstained.

Massa defined Almagro as a man who raises “histrionic positions on twitter” and called for OAS member countries to become more resolutely involved: “(We must) start empowering OAS countries to seek solutions instead of others who believe they are the solution.”

“Argentina is concerned and occupied with the situation in Nicaragua,” he reiterated and concluded. “It is important that the region commits to freeing political prisoners. And it is important that people understand that it is the institutions that define (OAS) policy ”.

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