Brazil expels Nicaraguan ambassador in retaliation as rift between leaders grows

SAO PAULO -- Brazil's government kicked out Nicaragua's ambassador Thursday in retaliation for a similar move by the Central American country's President Daniel Ortega.

Brazil's foreign ministry said it had decided to expel Nicaraguan Ambassador Fulvia Patricia Castro Matu in "application of the principle of reciprocity to the measure adopted by the Nicaraguan government about the Brazilian ambassador in Managua.” The ministry's statement said Brazil's Ambassador Breno da Costa has already left the country.

Nicaragua's government said both the Nicaraguan and the Brazilian ambassadors have left their positions, but did not mention they were kicked out or elaborate on the reasons for those moves.

A rift between Ortega and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, two former allies, has grown over the last year.

Two diplomatic sources in Brasilia told the AP that Nicaragua’s government protested two weeks ago over da Costa’s absence from celebrations of the 45th anniversary of Nicaragua’s Sandinista revolution, opening the way to expel him.

Ortega, whose critics see him as an authoritarian leader, was a guerrilla fighter in that movement.

The sources, who spoke under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the matter publicly, added that the Brazilian ambassador was following orders from the foreign ministry.

The foreign ministry hadn't previously confirmed local media reports of the Brazilian ambassador's expulsion.

Lula, who previously supported Ortega's presidency, steered away from Ortega after the Nicaraguan leader ignored a request from Pope Francis to stop repression against Catholic clergymen in the Central American nation.

Amnesty International in April said that Ortega's government arbitrarily arrested at least 119 people, including Roman Catholic bishop Rolando Álvarez for alleged conspiracy and dissemination of false information.

Brazil has frozen relations with the Central American country. That means no visits or meetings between leaders and diplomats of the two countries.

Leticia Bessa, an administrative assistant at the Nicaraguan embassy in Brazil's capital, said Matu left the country before Brazil's foreign ministry finalized its decision.

Later, Brazil's foreign ministry added that da Costa is expected to leave Nicaragua at the end of the day. It also clarified that the exit of its ambassador does not represent a total break of diplomatic relations with Managua.

Nicaragua's Vice President Rosario Murillo, who is also first lady and the government’s main spokesperson, didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about the diplomatic spat.

During a news conference with international news agencies in Brasilia on July 22, Lula told reporters that Ortega was not answering his phone calls.

Benjamin Gedan, director of the Wilson Center’s Latin America program, said the incident makes Ortega even more of a “pariah with few friends in the region.”

“Lula is a leftist icon, but he does not blindly support all fellow travelers,” Gedan said. “Two years ago, following Ortega’s latest sham reelection, practically no leaders from the region showed up in Managua for his inauguration. The collapse of democracy in Nicaragua and Venezuela has offered the Latin American left an opportunity to prioritize democracy over ideology.”

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Associated Press writer Gabriela Sá Pessoa contributed to this report.