Syria has condemned the Western “interference” in Nicaragua’s domestic affairs, which saw the United States slap a set of sanctions on a number of officials in the Central American state over the arrest of pro-US opposition figures there mainly on charges of links to foreign governments.
Syria’s official SANA news agency cited a spokesperson with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates as saying Tuesday that the Arab country condemned the interventionist polices of the US and other Western states toward the Republic of Nicaragua, adding that the “outrageous interference” was meant to “undermine the security and stability” in the Latin American country.
“The Syrian Arab Republic affirms full solidarity with the Nicaraguan people and government and with the leadership of President Daniel Ortega in the face of the US sanctions and the Western interference, and it renews the call for the renunciation of all unilateral practices that contradict the international law,” the spokesperson added.
Ahead of the November election, several Nicaraguan opposition figures have been arrested, including four would-be Ortega’s presidential rivals, mainly on charges of having received funds from abroad — which is prohibited under the country’s law — or the publication of information that the government has determined to be false.
The detainees stand accused of seeking to undermine the country’s independence and sovereignty, as well as for “inciting foreign interference in internal affairs, requesting military interventions and organizing with foreign financing.”
The Managua government said on Monday that the detained opposition figures were “usurpers” funded by the United States to overthrow Ortega.
Irked by the arrests, the US imposed unilateral sanctions on a number of officials in Nicaragua last week under the pretext of supporting “democracy” and “human rights.”
Toeing America’s line, the European Union also issued a statement in condemnation of the detentions, which the 27-nation bloc claimed amounted to a “political use of the judicial system” and ran “contrary to democratic principles.”
The National Assembly of Nicaragua immediately approved a resolution condemning the “unilateral and arbitrary interference” of the US government in the internal affairs and against the people of Nicaragua.
The Syrian nation has itself fallen victim to unilateral American and European pressure polices and sanctions, after the Westerners failed to topple the legitimate Damascus government through a proxy war.