United States Ambassador withdraws from Nicaragua on May 19

2023-05-02 20:12:33

The United States ambassador to Nicaragua, Kevin Sullivan, will return to Washington on May 19, 2023, after four and a half years at the helm of the United States Embassy in Managua.

With Ambassador Sullivan’s departure, diplomatic representation will be headed by career diplomat Kevin O’Reilly, who was appointed long-term Chargé d’Affaires by Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

O’Reilly will join the United States Embassy in Managua next June, where he will work closely with Minister Counselor Carla Fleharty “to direct our bilateral relationship with Nicaragua and continue our collaboration with the Nicaraguan people,” says a press release. Disseminated by the Embassy in Managua.

O’Reilly is a senior member of the Foreign Service and a seasoned expert on the relationship between the United States and Latin America.

The time has come, after more than 4 years in Nicaragua, to start saying goodbye. It will not be easy for us after all that we have experienced together, and all the support and affection that we have felt from Nicaraguans. https://t.co/XMciD6gryW

— Kevin K. Sullivan (@USAmbNicaragua) May 2, 2023

In July 2022, the United States proposed diplomat Hugo Rodríguez as ambassador to Nicaragua, but the regime withdrew the approval granted as a new possible US ambassador, arguing that the diplomat “made interfering and disrespectful statements.” The decision came after Rodríguez appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and advocated a return to democracy and an end to human rights violations in Nicaragua.