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        {"code":"26775","sect":"Central America","sect_slug":"central-america","hits":"475","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/en\/202303\/centroamerica\/26775","link_edit":"","name":"US Senate and House Urge CABEI to Cut Off Funding to Daniel Ortega","slug":"us-senate-and-house-urge-cabei-to-cut-off-funding-to-daniel-ortega","info":"Congressional Republicans and Democrats wrote to the presidents of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Costa Rica asking for them to guarantee that the Central American Bank of Economic Integration will no longer be a \u201clifeline\u201d for the Ortega-Murillo regime. In a forum in Washington on Thursday, CABEI president Dante Mossi justified his relationship with a government that he considers legitimate.","mtag":"Politics","noun":{"html":"Jos\u00e9 Luis Sanz \/ Washington","data":{"jose-luis-sanz-washington":{"sort":"","slug":"jose-luis-sanz-washington","path":"jose_luis_sanz_washington","name":"Jos\u00e9 Luis Sanz \/ Washington"}}},"view":"475","pict":{"cms-image-000038785-jpeg":{"feat":"1","sort":"38785","name":"cms-image-000038785.jpeg","link":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038785.jpeg","path":"https:\/\/elfaro.net\/images\/cms-image-000038785.jpeg","back":"","slug":"cms-image-000038785-jpeg","text":"&lt;p&gt;Gabriela Fr\u00edas, de CNN en espa\u00f1ol, Dante Mossi, presidente del BCIE; y Ryan Berg, de CSIS, durante el debate en el que tambi\u00e9n particip\u00f3 Manuel Orozco, de Di\u00e1logo Interamericano. Foto de El Faro, cortes\u00eda.&lt;\/p&gt;","capt":"\u003Cp\u003EGabriela Fr\u00edas, de CNN en espa\u00f1ol, Dante Mossi, presidente del BCIE; y Ryan Berg, de CSIS, durante el debate en el que tambi\u00e9n particip\u00f3 Manuel Orozco, de Di\u00e1logo Interamericano. Foto de El Faro, cortes\u00eda.\u003C\/p\u003E"}},"pict_main__sort":38785,"date":{"live":"2023\/03\/20"},"data_post_dateLive_YY":"2023","data_post_dateLive_MM":"03","data_post_dateLive_DD":"20","text":"\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cem\u003E\u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202303\/centroamerica\/26772\/senado-y-congreso-de-estados-unidos-piden-parar-el-financiamiento-del-bcie-a-daniel-ortega\"\u003ELeer en espa\u00f1ol\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe U.S. Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs Committees sent formal letters on Friday, March 17, to the presidents of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Costa Rica asking that \u201cyour government use its voice and vote\u201d as shareholders and founding members of the Central American Bank of Economic Integration (CABEI) to \u201censure that the bank\u2019s lending does not perpetuate the consolidation of the Nicaraguan dictatorship.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ENew Jersey Senator Robert Menendez and Texas Congressman Michael McCaul, the respective chairs of the committees, signed the separate letters to Presidents Alejandro Giammattei, Xiomara Castro, Nayib Bukele, and Rodrigo Chaves. They wrote that CABEI has in recent years \u201capproved nearly $3.5 billion in funding for initiatives to be implemented under the auspices of the Ortega-Murillo regime,\u201d financing which \u201cprovides a lifeline to the Ortega-Murillo regime at a time of growing global condemnation of human rights violations in Nicaragua.\u201d Like the countries to which the letter was directed, Nicaragua is a founding shareholder and member of CABEI.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn early March a group of specialists appointed by the U.N. Human Rights Committee to evaluate the situation in Nicaragua issued a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.ohchr.org\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/hrbodies\/hrcouncil\/grhe-nicaragua\/A_HRC_52_CRP5_Spanish.pdf\"\u003E300-page report\u003C\/a\u003E accusing the Ortega government of committing \u201cgeneralized human rights violations constituting crimes against humanity\u201d and of a \u201csystematic attack\u201d against civilians \u201cfor political reasons\u201d, including extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detentions, torture, and arbitrary deprivation of citizenship and of the right to stay in one\u2019s own country.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe report asserts that there is enough evidence to conclude that the presidential couple Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo are those chiefly responsible for these crimes. \u201cThe objective is to eliminate, by different means, any opposition in the country,\u201d said the president of the team of experts, German lawyer Jan-Michael Simon.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn their letters to the heads of state, the foreign affairs committees emphasized the comparison that the U.N. experts drew between the crimes of the Ortega government and those of the Nazi regime in Germany. Just one week after the report was published, Pope Francisco echoed the comparison. \u201cThese shocking characterizations of the situation in Nicaragua underscore the urgency of ending a \u2018business as usual\u2019 approach with the Ortega-Murillo regime,\u201d they wrote.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe brutality of the Ortega regime and the ever growing contributions from the CABEI, which financed 47 percent of public investment in Nicaragua last year, help explain why the statement came from both chambers and parties in Congress. Menendez and McCaul signed the letters on behalf of the other members of their committees.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn recent years Menendez has been one of the most aggressive U.S. politicians in his criticism of the Ortega regime and the democratic deterioration in other Central American nations. In a \u003Ca href=\"\/es\/202112\/centroamerica\/25875\/Senador-Men%C3%A9ndez-%E2%80%9CNicaragua-y-El-Salvador-no-deber%C3%ADan-gozar-de-preferencia-comercial%E2%80%9D.htm\"\u003ESenate hearing\u003C\/a\u003E in December 2021, he publicly called on the Biden administration to analyze the suspension of Nicaragua and El Salvador from the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). He was also one of the primary sponsors of the RENACER Act, which expanded the sanctions against Ortega\u2019s inner circle that had been implemented in the 2017 NICA Act and gave the White House new powers to try to \u201crestrain the loans [to Nicaragua] in multilateral banks and to curb the corruption of the regime.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003ESince the approval of RENACER in November 2021, the letter notes, the United States has ratcheted up pressure so that multilateral cooperation with Nicaragua is conducted through entities with \u201cfull technical, administrative, and financial independence from the Government of Nicaragua.\u201d The congressional leaders urged the leaders of the four countries to apply similar policy to CABEI\u2019s financial operations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u201cUntil Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo are willing to engage in negotiations that restore democratic governance, respect for human rights, and a timeline for free and fair elections, we urge your government to take steps to increase the transparency and scrutiny of CABEI\u2019s lending,\u201d they wrote. \u201cIn the event that Ortega and Murillo are unwilling to permit a political opening, it will be imperative that your government use its voice and vote to suspend funding for their criminal regime.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAn advisor in Washington told El Faro that the letter to the Central American presidents was signed \u201cafter months of monitoring the situation and stemming from widespread concerns about the relationship between the CABEI and Nicaragua.\u201d It\u2019s ironic, though, that the letter was sent barely 24 hours after CABEI President Dante Mossi visited Washington on Thursday to participate in a public event at the think tank Inter-American Dialogue and tried with little success to respond to criticism of the financing of the Ortega regime.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EIn various moments of the conversation, Mossi insisted that the Central American bank \u201chas no human rights clauses\u201d and attributed all final decisions regarding the approval of loans to the members of the executive board, representatives from the countries in the region. \u201cI work for everyone. They are the owners,\u201d he said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EHe added that in any review of bank policy \u201cthe key is CABEI\u2019s model of governance.\u201d The moderator, CNN journalist Gabriela Fr\u00edas, asked him if what he was insinuating was that pressure for a change in course at the bank should be directed toward the member countries, rather than at him. \u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d Mossi responded.\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMossi washes his hands\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe activity on Thursday stemmed from a \u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/manuelorozco65\/status\/1627654046281609221?s=20\"\u003Eflurry of tweets\u003C\/a\u003E in mid-February between Mossi and Ryan Berg, the Americas Program Director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The latter had just published an article proposing, among other U.S. actions toward Nicaragua, diplomatic coordination with Spain, South Korea, and Taiwan \u2014non-regional shareholders of the bank\u2014 to \u201c\u003Ca href=\"https:\/\/www.csis.org\/analysis\/why-cabei-funding-nicaraguas-dictatorship-and-what-can-united-states-do-about-it\"\u003Ecut off CABEI\u2019s financing\u003C\/a\u003E\u201d to the country. Mossi challenged him to a debate, and Nicaraguan researcher Manuel Orozco, director of the Migration, Remittances, and Development Program at Inter-American Dialogue, immediately offered his organization\u2019s facilities as the venue.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EMossi, a Honduran economist who worked for 15 years for the World Bank before taking the reins of the CABEI in 2018, earned the nickname of the \u201cdictators\u2019 banker\u201d for the support of the regional bank for the Ortega regime. Minutes into the event, he tried to deny that in an interview in July of last year he said that the international sanctions against Nicaraguan officials were unjust because \u201cpeople are being accused and judged without due process\u201d nor the right to defense. Fr\u00edas and Orozco responded almost in unison, citing verbatim the transcript of his interview with Nicaraguan outlet Canal 12 and offering to play the video. Orozco \u2014one of over three hundred Nicaraguans, including dozens of journalists and writers like Sergio Ram\u00edrez and Gioconda Belli, whose citizenship was stripped and properties in Nicaragua seized three weeks ago\u2014 responded, with palpable indignation, that the banishment was indeed handed down without any legal process.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EThe banker tried to present himself as a mere cog in the international political and financial machine, repeating six times that the CABEI operates under the same rules as the World Bank and Inter-American Development Bank. But while the World Bank has increasingly restricted its support to the Ortega regime in recent years, the regional bank has multiplied its financing in lockstep with the systematic repression of opposition members and the violation of human rights. In 2021 alone, the election year in which the regime incarcerated seven opposition candidates, the CABEI issued $455 million dollars in loans to Nicaragua. In 2022, with almost 300 political prisoners in Nicaraguan prisons, the government received $482 million more from the bank, most of the money earmarked for public works. The bank\u2019s contributions currently account for 70 percent of international contributions to the country.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EBerg reproached Mossi for deflecting responsibility under the argument that decisions about loans are made by the board of directors and asserted that any proposal must first be approved by a technical committee also presided by Mossi. \u201cYou can\u2019t say that you\u2019re just following orders,\u201d Berg told him. \u201cI feel that you don\u2019t know how the CABEI works,\u201d Mossi responded. A former U.S. diplomat in attendance compared the banker\u2019s responses to those of the accused at the Nuremberg trials.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EWhen Orozco asked Mossi whether he thought that Nicaragua is a dictatorship, his response drew cries of protest throughout the room: \u201cIt doesn't matter what I think,\u201d he said. dijo. \u201cIt is not for me to designate who is a dictator and who is not. That's not my job.\u201d He was, in essence, arguing that his opinion had no bearing on the criteria \u2014purportedly technical in nature\u2014 on which the bank weighs its funding to Nicaragua. But it also hinted at a second analysis, one consistent with his other statements at the event: the CABEI is not concerned with whether the countries of the region are democratic or whether they commit human rights violations.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EOne attendee asked Mossi whether he sees a \u201ctipping point\u201d at which the bank would stop financing the Ortega-Murillo government. He responded that, as policy, the bank does not finance arms and munitions, drawing sarcastic laughs in the audience. \u201cThat\u2019s a relief,\u201d someone joked. Then Mossi referenced the possibility of sanctions against the country, comparable to those imposed against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine: \u201cIf the sanctions regime continues to increase, the bank would be even more limited in terms of what it can finance and, in the case of extreme sanctions, it would apply for a license from the U.S. Treasury\u2019s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) in order to work on strictly humanitarian issues. That is our plan.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cbr\/\u003E\u003Cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003EAt the end of the event, El Faro asked Mossi again for his personal opinion on whether Nicaragua is a dictatorship, regardless of whether or not it affects CABEI policy. \u201cI don\u2019t have the elements to judge. I\u2019m an economist,\u201d he dodged. \u201cI look at the facts, and with those that I have in front of me, Nicaragua is a country that has been subject to a disputed election, but we have to live with it. According to the documents that I have in front of me, it is a legitimate government.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E"}

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