After the International Court of Justice concluded that Colombia did violate Nicaragua's rights by interfering in a portion of the sea that belongs to that country and recommended that negotiations be held between the two states so that fishermen and raizales can continue their work, President Iván Duque ruled out any possibility to reach an agreement with his counterpart Daniel Ortega.
During a press conference in the San Andrés archipelate, the Colombian president again referred to Ortega as a “dictator” and pointed out that there will be no possibility of dialogue with Nicaragua, in what remains of his government.
President Duque's position also implies that diplomatic relations between Colombia and Nicaragua will remain frozen, at least until the end of his term in August. The differences between the two governments have been clear in recent months, recalling that Iván Duque did not recognize the elections that left Daniel Ortega, again, as the president of the Central American country in December 2021 and the reaction of the Sandinista leader was to say that Colombia is a 'narco-state'.
Since then, Ivan Duque ordered Alfredo Rangel, Colombia's ambassador to Nicaragua, to return to the country and in the last few hours confirmed that the official will remain on national territory. “Colombia has an absolutely clear attitude: we are not going to connect with that regime, Ambassador Rangel is in Colombia and will continue to be in Colombia.”
On the other hand, the president of the Colombians stressed that the ICJ ruling does not mean that raizal fishermen cannot continue their fishing work as usual, he insisted that their rights will not be limited and that the necessary resources will be monitored and interposed from the country for communities to be protected.
Finally, Ivan Duque once again lashed out against Daniel Ortega calling his mandate a dictatorship. “We are absolutely clear that what exists in Nicaragua is a dictatorship and it is a dictatorship that is currently being rejected globally, is rejected by the persecution of the opposition, by the closure of universities, is censored for the way in which they want to end the free press and limit economic freedoms”, expressed.
As President Duque pointed out that as long as he is president he will not negotiate with Nicaragua and with the presidential elections that will take place this year, it is also important to see what the presidential candidates are planning. For now, the only one who shares his position with the current president is Federico Gutiérrez, who has also rejected Ortega's “dictatorship”, while Gustavo Petro, Ingrid Betancourt and Rodolfo Hernández have raised the possibility of having a dialogue with that country.
For his part, Daniel Ortega, said in a statement referring to the ruling that “today the International Court of Justice has issued a firm, final and mandatory judgment in which Nicaragua is right in confirming that Colombia has implemented a state policy that has violated the jurisdiction and sovereign rights of Nicaragua”.
In the text signed by Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo, it is stated that the Colombian government, headed by President Iván Duque, failed to comply by “interfering with Nicaragua's fishing, marine scientific research and naval operations in its exclusive economic zone, attempting to impose conservation measures on resources natural and marine environment of Nicaragua and to authorize fishing activities in Nicaragua's exclusive economic zone”.
The Ortega communiqué concludes by stating that the so-called Government of Reconciliation and National Unity has the willingness and commitment to the roots of the archipelagos and pointed out that they have never denied the right to fishermen.
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