Bogota, Colombia.- Colombian President Gustavo Petro responded on Tuesday to his Nicaraguan counterpart, Daniel Ortega, who yesterday called the Latin American governments that have not recognized the re-election of Nicolás Maduro, tainted by allegations of fraud, “low-level”.
“Such an insult allows me to respond: At least I am not dragging down the human rights of the people of my country,” the Colombian president said on social media X.
Ortega said Monday that Petro and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – who are seeking negotiations between Maduro and the opposition – are behaving like “governments groveling” at the feet of the European Union and the United States for not recognizing Maduro’s victory in the July 28 elections. “I see Petro competing with Lula to see who will be the leader to represent the Yankees in Latin America” but “poor Petro does not have the strength that Brazil has,” said the Nicaraguan president, in power since 2007.
The Colombian president replied that Ortega “has called us ‘sluts’ just because we want a peaceful and democratic negotiated solution in Venezuela.”
Both leaders were members of left-wing guerrilla groups in their countries before coming to power, but they have had differences since last year following Bogotá’s support for the exiled Nicaraguan poet Gioconda Belli. Ortega, who faces sanctions from the international community for his authoritarian drift, accused his Colombian counterpart of being a “traitor” and of being “at the service of the Yankees.” Petro today accused the Nicaraguan president of violating the rights of his “comrades in arms and of fighting against dictatorships.” Brazil and Colombia insist on having “disaggregated and verifiable data” on the votes in Venezuela. They have also suggested the possibility of repeating the elections. The United States, 10 Latin American countries and the European Union do not recognize the Venezuelan authorities who validated the elections and support the opposition, which says it had 67 percent of the votes. In contrast, Nicaragua, Cuba and the other countries of the ALBA alliance – created in 2004 by the late socialist leaders Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro – express support for Maduro.
#Petro #replies #Ortega #drag #human #rights