MANAGUA: Nicaragua revoked its approval of Hugo Rodriguez as candidate for the new US ambassador for meddling in the country’s internal affairs, Foreign Minister Denis Moncada said. “The government of Nicaragua, in use of its faculties and in the exercise of its national sovereignty, immediately withdraws the place granted to candidate Hugo Rodriguez,” Xinhua news agency quoted Moncada as saying in a statement. The Minister denounced Rodriguez’s interference in Nicaragua’s internal affairs earlier in the day at the confirmation hearing of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, saying: “We reiterate that every diplomat has the duty to contribute to respect and understanding between Peoples and Governments.”

Two months ago, US President Joe Biden announced his nomination of Rodriguez as Washington’s new envoy to Nicaragua to replace current Ambassador Kevin Sullivan, who has been in place since October 2018. Rodriguez is a senior advisor in the US Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs. He served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs focused on Central America and Mexico from 2019-2021.