At Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s instruction, Chargé d’Affaires Elias Baumann returns to Washington for critical consultations following Rosario Murillo and Daniel Ortega’s denial of agrément to Natasha Franceschi as U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua. Murillo and Ortega’s decision demonstrates their complete unwillingness to engage in productive diplomatic dialogue.
Maintaining open diplomatic channels is the cornerstone of international relations. Murillo and Ortega’s rejection of Ambassador-designate Natasha Franceschi, an eminently qualified senior career diplomat, demonstrates the hypocrisy of their rhetoric of mutual respect and their desire to engage in political theater at the expense of the Nicaraguan people.