Nicaragua withdraws approval of EU ambassador 

The government of Daniel Ortega withdrew its approval of the European Union’s ambassador to the country after the union called for the “return of the rule of law” in the Central American country, the Nicaraguan foreign ministry announced on Tuesday. 

The foreign ministry said it decided to withdraw its approval due to the "interventionist, daring and insolent communique” that the EU released about Nicaragua. 

"In these circumstances and in the face of the permanent siege on the right of our people to national sovereignty, we will not receive their representative," Foreign Minister Denis Moncada said in a note addressed to Brussels.

In a statement released on April 18, the EU criticized the Nicaraguan government’s “systemic repression” of its citizens, among other human rights abuses. The statement was released on the fifth year anniversary of the nationwide protests, which left more than 350 dead, hundreds imprisoned, and more than 100,000 people in exile, according to the UN Human Rights Council.  

"On this sad anniversary, the EU confirms its readiness to support all efforts aimed at a democratic, peaceful, and negotiated solution to the protracted political crisis in Nicaragua," the statement said. 

"The European Union has consistently condemned this repression, repeatedly calling for the liberation of all political prisoners, the full return to the rule of law as well as the return of international human rights organizations to the country," the statement continued.

Nicaragua, in response to the statement, claimed the EU was committing “crimes against humanity,” without specifying which ones. 

Fernando Ponz was nominated as ambassador after the Nicaraguan government deemed that the previous ambassador, Bettina Muschedt, was a “persona non grata” last September. The decision came after the EU released another statement urging Ortega to “restore democracy.”