MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – The Nicaraguan government initiated the process of withdrawing from the Organization of American States (OAS), Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada said yesterday, after the OAS denounced Nicaragua’s recent elections as illegitimate.
Moncada accused the regional body of interventionism and being controlled by the United States.
“We are resigning and disassociating ourselves from the Organization of American States,” Moncada told a news conference, accusing the body of having the “mission of facilitating the hegemony of the United States with its interventionism over the countries of Latin America.”
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega was reelected to a fourth consecutive term in the November 7 elections after jailing political rivals and cracking down on critical media.
In response, the OAS adopted a resolution on saying Nicaragua’s election lacked “democratic legitimacy.” Twenty-five nations voted in favour and seven abstained, including Mexico, Honduras and Bolivia.
