The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, has reserved the direct appointment of the person who will occupy the number two post at the Spanish Embassy in Nicaragua, according to diplomatic sources, The Diplomat has learned.
In the latest call to fill a series of posts abroad that have fallen vacant for various reasons -a ‘bombito’, in diplomatic jargon- the ‘number two’ post in Nicaragua is, along with that of consul general in London, the only ones with an asterisk, meaning that the minister is not waiting to hear the opinion of the Diplomatic Career Board before deciding who will fill them.
This is the first time that the position of second in the Nicaraguan embassy has carried this asterisk, and according to the sources consulted, this is due to the situation in the Central American country, where the president, Daniel Ortega, has erased all opposition, imprisoning many opposition party leaders and journalists. The presidential elections held in November last year, which perpetuated Ortega in power, were not recognised by the Spanish government, which described them as a mockery.
Spain recalled its then ambassador in Managua, Mar Fernández-Palacios, for consultations in August 2021, following insults against Spain by Ortega. In March this year, after relatives of the opponents explained to Albares that they preferred foreign diplomatic representatives to be in the country to witness what is happening there, the government decided that the ambassador should return, but the Ortega regime refused. As a result, Nicaragua’s ambassador in Madrid, Carlos Midence, left Spain.
Finally, in July, the Nicaraguan authorities agreed to send a new ambassador, Pilar Terrén, although they maintained the Nicaraguan embassy in Madrid with a chargé d’affaires, Milagros Urbina, at its head.
Recently, Jaime Ramos, the diplomat who had held the second post at the embassy in Managua since 2020, was recalled to Madrid as advisor for diplomatic affairs at the Ministry of the Interior, and left the post vacant.
Now, Albares has chosen not to listen to the Diplomatic Career Board before appointing his replacement, and will decide directly who he sends to Managua.
