Photo: Twitter
Text: Cuba News 360 Newsroom
Chilean Foreign Minister Antonia Urrejola avoided comparing the democratic and human rights situation in Cuba with that in Nicaragua or Venezuela. The President is recognized for her tough stance on Daniel Ortega’s government, but in a recent interview she chose to evade the absolute truth on the Cuban issue.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs interviewed on the CNN network was asked about human rights in the three nations, regarding her critical attitude towards Nicaragua, the reporter asked her whether “the human rights situation in Cuba is as serious as the human rights situation in Cuba Nicaragua?
The lawyer and diplomat believes that “the contexts of Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela are different. There are human rights violations in all of these countries. In the case of Cuba, I am personally concerned about the situation of those who took part in the protests last year,” Urrejola said.
“But it seems to me that the situation in Cuba is not comparable to that in Nicaragua, not at all. Cuba is a country inserted in the international community. It is in dialogue with the international community. Cuba has suffered from economic sanctions, as pointed out by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights itself and the United Nations. These economic sanctions ultimately affect the people beyond the incumbent governments. It seems to me that the situation in Nicaragua is not comparable to that in Cuba or Venezuela,” said the minister, who was also President of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Given the CNN anchor’s insistence that the diplomat answer whether there is democracy in Cuba, the official emphasized that the situations are different and that she has a very personal opinion on some situations in Cuba. “But it seems to me that beyond my personal position, it is very important to pay attention to certain connections. In the case of Cuba, the human rights political situation is very different from that in Nicaragua and it is a more complex situation than that of black or white, if I am honest with you.”
Gabriel Boric’s government is classified as left-wing, but the president himself is also critical of the Latin American left, for which he is usually viewed with great interest by the international community.
For its part, the Cuban government sent Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla to the inauguration of Chile’s youngest President on 11th March. Parrilla met with Urrejola himself to reaffirm diplomatic ties between the two nations.