International
Nicaragua accuses Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and the Dominican Republic of interference
The Government of Nicaragua accused the countries of the Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and the Dominican Republic region of meddling in their internal affairs after rejecting the candidacy of former Nicaraguan Chancellor Denis Moncada as the new secretary general of the Central American Integration System (SICA), according to an official text released on Wednesday.
In a statement, the Sandinista Executive chaired by Daniel Ortega together with his wife, Rosario Murillo, explained that on Tuesday afternoon a meeting of SICA Foreign Ministers was held to decide on the terna that was presented in a “responsible and timely manner by Nicaragua to exercise the General Secretariat of the SICA, which corresponds by law and institutionality of the System, to the people and Government of Nicaragua, without reaching consensus for the arbitrary and unfounded positions of some delegations.”
Ortega and Murillo, both appointed co-presidents for a recent reform of the Political Constitution, proposed a terna of candidates headed by former Chancellor Moncada and also composed of Sandinista deputy Arling Patricia Alonso Gómez and Minister of the Family, Johana Flores, after two previous ternas presented did not reach consensus.
“Once again, the delegations of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and the Dominican Republic, meddling in the internal and sovereign affairs of the Republic of Nicaragua, intend to dictate and impose their criteria and political interests on sovereign matters, which only correspond to the people and Government of the Republic of Nicaragua to decide,” Managua said.
Managua denounced that “selfish political agendas and interests, unrelated to the regional interest (…) continue to influence the decisions of the Governments that have blocked the legitimate right of the Republic of Nicaragua, with the petty purpose of imposing their political interests.”
For Nicaragua, “these actions only promote division between the peoples and governments of the region, promoting the accelerated disintegration of this important regional space, an attitude that constitutes a frank violation of the Tegucigalpa Protocol.”
Therefore, Managua called on the governments of the region “to assume a responsible position and to act on the basis of the Regional Regulations and Presidential Agreements that govern the Integration System, but above all to assume an attitude consistent with the interests of our peoples,” and assured that “it will not decline in its struggle for respect for their sovereignty and national dignity.”
At the end of last November, Nicaragua threatened Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and the Dominican Republic with taking “some measures” against them for opposing the election of former Chancellor Moncada as the new secretary general of the SICA, and described a joint note issued by those four countries in this regard as “disrespectful and imposing”.
The General Secretariat of SICA has been vacant since in mid-November 2023 the Nicaraguan lawyer Werner Vargas resigned from the position for the period 2022-2026, appointed as Nicaragua’s proposal.
The SICA, created in Tegucigalpa in 1991, is integrated by Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the Dominican Republic as full members, while Mexico, the United States and other countries have the category of regional observers.
International
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
Former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe on Monday requested that the Supreme Court restore his freedom while he appeals the historic 12-year house arrest sentence he received for bribery and procedural fraud.
Uribe, the most prominent figure of Colombia’s right wing, was convicted last week by a lower court for attempting to bribe paramilitary members into denying his ties to the violent anti-guerrilla squads.
Since Friday, the 73-year-old has been under house arrest at his residence in Rionegro, about 30 km from Medellín. The judge justified the measure by citing a risk of flight.
However, Uribe’s defense team rejected that argument and formally petitioned the court to immediately lift the detention order, claiming it lacks legal basis.
Uribe, a dominant force in Colombian politics for decades, is now the first former president in the country’s history to be convicted and placed under arrest, found guilty of witness tampering and obstruction of justice to prevent links to paramilitary groups.
He has repeatedly denounced the trial as politically motivated, blaming pressure from the leftist government currently in power.
His political party, Centro Democrático, has called for nationwide protests on August 7 in support of Uribe, who remains popular for his hardline stance against guerrilla groups.
Uribe has until August 13 to submit his written appeal. The case will then move to the Bogotá High Court, which has until October 16 to uphold, overturn, or dismiss the sentence. If the deadline passes without a decision, the case will be archived.
International
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
The poorest country in Latin America and the Caribbean is currently engulfed in a deep political crisis and a wave of violence driven by armed groups — a situation that an international security mission led by Kenya is attempting to stabilize.
Due to the worsening security conditions, the U.S. government has suspended all official movements of embassy personnel outside the compound in Port-au-Prince, the U.S. State Department announced Monday in a security alert posted on social media platform X.
“There are intense gunfights in the Tabarre neighborhood, near the U.S. Embassy,” the alert reads, urging the public to avoid the area.
Tabarre is a municipality located near Port-au-Prince International Airport, northeast of the Haitian capital.
According to a July report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, at least 3,141 people were killed in Haitibetween January 1 and June 30 of this year.
International
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
The Israeli military announced on Sunday that 136 boxes of food aid were airdropped into Gaza by the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, Germany, and Belgium.
“In recent hours, six countries conducted air drops of 136 aid packages containing food for residents in the southern and northern Gaza Strip,” read the statement, which added that the operation was coordinated by COGAT, the Israeli defense body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories.
The Israeli military emphasized that they will “continue working to improve the humanitarian response alongside the international community” and reiterated their stance to “refute false allegations of deliberate famine in Gaza.”
The announcement comes as UN agencies warn Gaza faces an imminent risk of famine. More than one in three residents go days without eating, and other nutrition indicators have dropped to their worst levels since the conflict began.
The agencies also noted the difficulty of “collecting reliable data in current conditions, as Gaza’s health systems —already devastated by nearly three years of conflict— are collapsing.”
Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run Health Ministry reported on Sunday that hospitals in the enclave recorded six deaths from hunger and malnutrition on Saturday, all of them adults.
Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction
U.S. Embassy staff restricted as gunfire erupts near compound in Port-au-Prince
Israel says 136 food aid boxes airdropped into Gaza by six nations
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Uribe requests freedom amid appeal of historic bribery conviction