MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chilean President a “lapdog” of the US for Nicaragua's Ortega

Ortega argued Boric had no authority to question him, coming from a land where Pinochet's Constitution continues to prevail

Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega Wednesday dubbed Chilean President Gabriel Boric Font a “lapdog” of the US administration and insisted it had become fashionable to request the release of political prisoners in his country.

Ortega also referred to US State Department's Brian Nichols, a top official in charge of Latin American affairs, as a “poor black man” for endorsing the requests for freedom of Nicaragua's detainees.

In a broadcast message marking the 43rd anniversary of Nicaragua's National Police, Ortega said “it has become fashionable” to ask in international forums for the release of “political prisoners” in Nicaragua, in reference to Boric's speech before the 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

”The government that wants to receive applause from the Yankee empire (United States) and some governments of the European Union go out there, like lapdogs, to speak that the political prisoners in Nicaragua must be set free,“ Ortega argued while insisting the South American leader was not as keen on ”the political prisoners they have in their country“ where ”the Constitution left“ by dictator Augusto Pinochet ”continues to prevail.“

Ortega claimed Boric has ”a number of prisoners from the previous government, of young people who protested in the streets seeking a profound change“ in Chile, thus questioning Boric's authority to raise doubts about the situation in Nicaragua.

”As if there were only prisoners in Nicaragua. They have a glass ceiling, prisoners in their house, a constitutional coup regime, terrorists and they talk like that,“ Ortega went on, and asked Boric to ”stop telling chiles (jokes).”

According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), there are currently more than 200 political prisoners in Nicaragua since the socio-political crisis that broke out in April 2018.

Regarding the “other voices in Latin America” demanding the release of political prisoners in Nicaragua, Ortega said that . “those calling the shots” were “the Yankee empire, which is the one that has committed the greatest crimes in the history of humanity.”

“There is a gentleman there who is constantly making statements with a very fierce face, he looks like one of those fierce bulldogs. His name is Brian Nichols,” Ortega said. “He has been set to bark. He barks against Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua. That's what they have put the poor black guy to do and well, he was really well chosen because he has the face of a bulldog,” he added.

Ortega has been in power for 15 years and 7 months in a row. He was reelected last year while his opponents were either in jail or exile.