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CENTRAL AMERICA |
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US
Ambassador Defiant On Leaving Nicaragua
MANAGUA — The US ambassador to Nicaragua
said on Sunday he plans to stay put in the
Central American nation despite violent
protests demanding that he go home for
allegedly meddling in domestic politics.
"I am staying here to work as US ambassador
(as) we have a strong and constant
commitment to the Nicaraguan people,"
Ambassador Robert Callahan told local media.
"My main job is maintaining good relations
with Nicaragua and I will do everything in
my power to do so," he added.
Thousands of Nicaraguans pelted the US
embassy with rocks and home-made explosives
last week, demanding the ambassador be
expelled for criticizing a ruling allowing
leftist President Daniel Ortega to seek
re-election indefinitely.
Ortega's administration issued a statement
calling Callahan's comments an
"inadmissible" interference in Nicaragua's
internal affairs, but stopped short of
asking for his removal.
It is not the first time the United States
has tangled with Ortega, who returned to
power in 2006 after a 16-year hiatus.
Ortega led the 1979 Sandinista uprising that
ousted the regime of US-backed dictator
Anastasio Somoza, after 45 years of
oppressive rule.
Ortega served as president from 1985-1990.
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