Dictator Daniel Ortega granted full powers to Nicaragua’s newly appointed Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Luis Eric Rodriguez Lanuza, to act as notification agent for a loan contract with the United Kingdom Export Finance Fund (UKEF, for its acronym in English) for a total amount of $125.6 million To strengthen the hospital network in the country.
On September 20, Presidential Agreement 185-2023, published in the official newspaper La Gazeta, announced the appointment of Rodriguez Lanoza as Ambassador to the United Kingdom, succeeding Giselle Socorro Morales Echavere, who served in this position for nine years.
Previously, Rodriguez was Minister Counselor with Consular Duties at the Nicaraguan Embassy in Germany, appointed effective March 12, 2019. Before that, he was Minister Counselor with Consular Duties at the same Embassy for six years, since 2013. Rodriguez Lanuza served as the husband of the Nicaraguan Ambassador to Berlin, Tatiana Daniela Garcia.
Read also: Ortega’s Foreign Policy: Diplomacy as a Dictatorship Tool
Six days after his appointment as Ambassador to Great Britain, Ortega granted “full powers” to Rodriguez, through Presidential Agreement 196-2023, published on Tuesday, September 26, 2023 in the Official Gazette La Gaceta, so that he “acts as a service agent in relation to any proceedings brought.” before the English courts in relation to any financing document.
Article 2 of Presidential Agreement 196-2023 states that “it is sufficient to certify the authority of Comrade Luis Eric Rodríguez Lanuza, so that he acts in the name and on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua as notification agent, with respect to the matter.” Content of Article 1 of this Instrument.”
An expert in international relations explained that the “notification agent” number “is a number confirmed in the loan contract as a condition.”
The source said: “This is not a diplomatic function and therefore requires a special permit like the one being done.”
Loan with UK Export Finance Fund
In accordance with Presidential Agreement 196-2023, Rodriguez acts as notifying agent for the loan contract with the UK Export Finance Fund (UKEF), signed on October 5, 2021, between the Republic of Nicaragua, represented by the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) and the Fund UK Export Finance (UKEF) and other financial institutions, in the amount of US$96,110,651.38, of which the CABEI bank equivalent, US$66,556,330.54, comes from the regular resources of CABEI guaranteed by UKEF, and on the other hand the direct loan from UKEF In the amount of US$29,554,320.84, which will include the UKEF facility to co-finance the “Strengthening Care Capacity in the Hospital Services Network” project. In priority health units.
The total loan amount is US$125,664,972.22.
Read also: Alba Azucena Torres, the Nicaraguan poet responsible for nine embassies
How was this funding achieved?
Once again, the question arises among opponents and critics of the Ortega regime: Why do democratic countries and international financial organizations continue to grant loans to dictatorial regimes?
How was this funding source achieved? Does the board of directors of this bank know that they are lending to a regime that violates human rights? Thirdly, what are the terms of this loan, specifically what is the interest rate and repayment period on this debt? “This is a fundamental issue that all Nicaraguans should know about, because it is money that will be paid through the Nicaraguan tax,” said opposition figure and economist Juan Sebastián Chamorro.
