During the Organization of American States (OAS) Assembly that took place on Friday, Costa Rica’s delegate Rita Hernández condemned in her speech the actions of Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega in violently repressing the protests against his government, actions that have left over 350 deaths according the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (CIDH).

The statements of Hernández bothered the Nicaraguan representative, Luis Alvarado, who reacted by accusing Costa Rica of human right violations, deaths and violence that, according to him, were perpetrated by the Costa Rican government against the groups of strikers protesting the fiscal reform.

“In response to the insistence of Costa Rica, as well as other countries, to continue interfering in Nicaragua’s internal affairs, we want to denounce the massive violation of human rights of the Costa Rican Government against the population during the strike, which have been reported by international media, and whose voices have been censored by the press of the oligarchy of this country, to silence the discontent of the population with the fiscal reform that seeks to unload over the Costa Rican working class the effects of the bad administration of the elite groups of this country and the permanent theft of corrupt public workers”, stated the Nicaraguan representative.

Luis Alvarado went on to affirm that in Costa Rica the government had resorted to violence to eliminate road blocks in Caldera and Limon, and that because of the police repression there had been several deaths. He assured that President Carlos Alvarado had rejected any options of dialogue with the labor unions.

In addition, the Nicaraguan emphasized that in Costa Rica discrimination and xenophobia have become institutionalized, making reference to the march of a group of Costa Ricans back in August who protested against the increase of Nicaraguan migration to Costa Rica and the presence of Nicaraguans in La Merced Park.

The Costa Rican delegate responded to the Nicaraguan representative by saying that the “lies and attacks” would not silence Costa Rica when it comes to denouncing what is happening in the streets of Nicaragua.