Borrell says Nicaragua is in a "dire" situation and hopes to exert pressure

The EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell, said that Nicaragua is in a "very dire" situation and hoped that the EU club will be able to put "pressure" on the regime after the debate in which EU ministers will discuss this Monday the reaction of the EU-27 to the elections in that country.

"I hope to put more pressure on the regime", the politician declared on his arrival at the meeting of European Union (EU) foreign ministers in Luxembourg, after being asked about his expectations for the debate of the heads of diplomacy of the Member States.

The situation in the Latin American country is "very dire", he stressed.

The foreign ministers are meeting in a meeting in which Spain has asked to discuss the reaction of the EU-27 to the elections in Nicaragua on 7 November, in which the main rivals of President Daniel Ortega are imprisoned.

"We have a clear idea of what is going to happen. Basically, the opposition will not be allowed to participate in the elections and it is clear that everything is being prepared for elections that will be neither free nor democratic," said a European source.

Faced with a situation in which there is "a clear authoritarian turn by the Ortega regime", "there will probably be a refusal to recognise the result" of the elections, because it will not represent the opinion of Nicaraguans, said the same source.

Questioned about the Venezuelan government's decision to suspend dialogue with the opposition and whether this means a change in the conditions for sending an electoral observation mission to this year's regional elections in Venezuela, Borrell preferred not to answer.

"On the electoral observation mission in Venezuela, I think I have already said everything I had to say", he commented.

On Friday, from Washington, Borrell assured that the United States supports the sending of a European electoral observation mission to the Venezuelan elections.

Borrell defended the sending of an electoral observation mission, since "these are not presidential or legislative elections, they are regional and local" and "there are many mayors and presidents of states who are in office and want to repeat their mandates".

"It seems reasonable to me that there should be an effort, not to support the opposition, but that there should be guarantees that the elections will be as free as possible", he told journalists.

On 21 November, Venezuela will hold regional and local elections, in which citizens will elect the governors of the 23 states that make up the country and the mayors of 335 municipalities, as well as representatives of the legislative councils.