The United States describes Nicaragua’s exit from the Organization of American States as a “desperate attempt” to evade justice

The country’s withdrawal from the Organization of American States — which takes effect today — and human rights abuses in the Central American country “constitute an affront to the hemisphere’s commitment to democracy,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.

The spokesman said that President Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, seek to “continue to isolate Nicaragua from the international community.”

He added that this “demonstrates their desperation to prevent any efforts by the Organization of American States or like-minded partners to hold them accountable for flagrant human rights violations.”

“Their violations include the unjust detention, conviction, and ill-treatment of political prisoners, including Bishop Rolando Alvarez; attacking independent journalists; and forcing hundreds of civil society organizations and educational institutions to close their operations or transfer them to the state.”

The Nicaraguan government communicated a resolution to denounce the Charter of the Organization of American States — which initiates Nicaragua’s final withdrawal and resignation from that organization — in November 2021, days after Ortega was re-elected to a fifth term in elections that the organization called illegitimate.

The State Department stressed today that despite Ortega and Murillo’s condemnation of the OAS Charter, “Nicaragua remains subject to its human rights and governance obligations under remaining treaties and instruments, including the American Convention on Human Rights.”

Miller stressed that the United States and other partners in the Organization of American States will continue to review “all available and appropriate tools to hold Ortega, Murillo, and their agents accountable for their actions.”

The spokesman urged the Nicaraguan authorities to fulfill their obligations and comply with the recommendations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Nicaragua has been experiencing a political and social crisis since April 2018, which worsened after the November 2021 elections, in which President Ortega, who has been in power since 2007, was re-elected for a fifth and fourth consecutive term.