[News] Nicaragua's former ambassador to the OAS says he can "neither eat nor sleep"

[Inkriql]

Arturo McFields, Nicaragua's former ambassador to the Organization of American States (OAS), said Monday that he cannot "eat or sleep" since he rebelled last week against the government of Daniel Ortega, and regretted having received criticism from some sectors of the Nicaraguan opposition.

“I am in a very strong emotional process and it hurts me a lot when people who call themselves Democrats tell you that what you have done is not enough and that you have to drag yourself and ask for forgiveness. They don't know what I'm going through,” he told the EFE agency in a telephone interview.

After five months as ambassador to the OAS, McFields rebelled on March 23 against Ortega, denounced his country's "dictatorship" and demanded the release of political prisoners, for which he was immediately removed from office.

McFields pointed out this Monday that his gesture has received the support of “the vast majority of Nicaraguans”, including figures such as the poet Gioconda Belli and the journalist Lucía Pineda, but has also suffered a “smear campaign” from members of the opposition who did not they forgive him for having been part of Ortega's circle.

“The psychological trauma and the fact that I can neither eat nor sleep is not enough. One has to crawl on the ground to be worthy of forgiveness," reproached McFields, who opined that "division has been the great cause of a dictatorship in Nicaragua."

As a result of his decision, the former ambassador said he had put his life and that of his family "at risk", having made a "jump without a parachute" and having lost "medical insurance" in the United States.

To those from Ortega's circle accuse him of being a CIA sellout, McFields responded that the only financial support he has is from his wife's work and from an African-American church in Washington. “What I did I don't regret an inch. I did it for myself, now I feel free, without chains, but I am still in shock, ”he stated.

Although he did not detail his future plans, he pointed out that the US State Department is helping him to regularize his immigration status, while Ecuador has made him a "political asylum proposal."

McFields, a journalist by profession, was appointed in October of last year as ambassador to the OAS and, he assured, that at that time he was already "dissatisfied" with the Ortega government, but "he did not know how to present this disagreement."

"From the first day I arrived I wanted to do something for my country, because there comes a time when you get tired of repeating slogans, you get tired of putting on your shirt and defending the indefensible," said the former ambassador, who maintains that there is great discontent between senior Nicaraguan officials.

In fact, on Sunday the lawyer Paul Reichler, who has represented Nicaragua before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in several international litigations, resigned from his position out of "moral conscience", denouncing the way in which Ortega leads the country, days after that McFields did.

In his unexpected statement during a session of the OAS permanent council, McFields said he was speaking "on behalf of more than 177 political prisoners and more than 350 people who have lost their lives" in his country since 2018.

The former ambassador explained this Monday that the cases that prompted him to take a step forward were the arrests of the activist Tamara Dávila and the journalist Miguel Mora; as well as the death in prison of former Sandinista guerrilla fighter Hugo Torres, whom he described as a "national hero."

Since he rebelled against Ortega, he does not answer "the phone to anyone" from the Nicaraguan government, since he assures that "threats are usual."

 

https://www.infobae.com/america/america-latina/2022/03/28/el-ex-embajador-de-nicaragua-en-la-oea-dice-que-no-puede-ni-comer-ni-dormir/