US Requests Emergency OAS Meeting Over Nicaragua’s Abolition of Elections

The push for international intervention follows two specific actions by the Nicaraguan government in July. On July 19, Daniel Ortega stated that Nicaragua will “nunca más” (never again) hold elections. This was followed on July 24 by the announcement of a partial constitutional reform designed to codify the abolition of the vote and prevent anyone linked to the opposition—whether real or perceived—from accessing power through electoral means.

The U.S. Proposal to the OAS

Andrew Stevenson, the permanent U.S. ambassador to the OAS, formalized the request in a letter sent this Wednesday to the organization’s Permanent Council. The proposal includes a draft resolution to convene foreign ministers from across the continent to examine the suppression of peaceful electoral change in Nicaragua.

Stevenson asserted that both the July 19 declaration and the July 24 constitutional review constitute a direct rejection of the right of Nicaraguans to choose their leaders through free and fair elections. In his letter, the diplomat warned that the dictadura de Murillo-Ortega has drastically exacerbated the already urgent situation in Nicaragua by openly declaring the suppression of peaceful electoral change.

The document presented by the Permanent Mission of the United States to the OAS expressly condemns Ortega’s statements and any measure intended to eliminate political pluralism, prevent democratic alternation, or restrict the peaceful participation of citizens considered opponents. The text explicitly clarifies that the initiative does not constitute authorization for the use of armed force. The proposal further maintains that the suppression of elections and the permanent exclusion of the opposition are incompatible with the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

Diplomatic Developments in Qatar

In separate diplomatic developments, Qatar confirmed on Tuesday the arrival of White House special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in Doha. While U.S. President Donald Trump stated on Monday that there would be a meeting between representatives of his country and Iran to address the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program, Qatari officials have disputed this.

Majed al Ansari, the spokesperson for the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated during his weekly press conference that Witkoff and Kushner are in Doha to speak with the mediators to analyze the progress of negotiations. Al Ansari insisted that currently, there is no high-level and direct meeting scheduled between the US and Iran, arguing that the envoys’ presence is not for conducting conversations with the Iranian party.

Al Ansari noted that technical meetings between Washington and Tehran regarding a memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 have not stopped. Meanwhile, Iran discarded holding conversations with Washington in Doha this Tuesday, asserting its delegation would travel to Qatar with the “único objetivo” (sole objective) of addressing the release of blocked Iranian assets. Al Ansari stated that $6,000 million in frozen Iranian funds have not yet been transferred to Tehran and that such a transfer will only occur if the U.S. and Iran reach an agreement.

The negotiations also focus on the Strait of Hormuz, specifically the mechanism for its reopening and the resumption of navigation. Al Ansari described the eliminación de las minas (removal of mines) and the security of the passage as priorities, stating that Qatar is coordinating with the Sultanate of Oman to ensure the libertad de navegación (freedom of navigation) for all Gulf states.

Judicial Investigation into ARCA Official

In Argentina, federal judge Marcelo Martínez de Giorgi has issued a series of requests to the United States to determine if Andrés Gerardo Vázquez, the current head of the Agency of Collection and Customs Control (ARCA), is the true owner of three properties in the U.S. valued at over two million dollars.

The judicial measure follows a request from Sergio Rodríguez, head of the Administrative Investigations Prosecutor’s Office (PIA). Prosecutor Rodríguez warned there is sufficient evidence to cite Vázquez for the crime of malicious omission for failing to include these assets in his sworn financial statements before the Anti-Corruption Office and the tax authorities between 2012 and 2015, and again in 2023.

The PIA’s reconstruction indicates that apartments in Miami were acquired between 2013 and 2015 through two Panamanian companies: Alcorta Corp. and Pompeya Group Corp. In 2016, these firms came under the control of Galanthus Capital Limited, a company based in the British Virgin Islands, where Vázquez appears as the final beneficiary. Since 2021, the official’s twin daughters have served as secretary and treasurer of the Panamanian companies. Furthermore, the daughters have resided since 2022 in the Sunny Isles unit registered to Pompeya Group Corp.

To support the claim that Vázquez operates as the shadow owner, Prosecutor Rodríguez documented that Vázquez and his ex-wife, Silvia Ivone Rodríguez—also an ARCA official—paid municipal taxes in Florida between 2014 and 2018 from their own pockets, subsequently receiving reimbursement checks in their names. Additionally, Vázquez’s personal address in Puerto Madero is listed as the official headquarters for Alcorta Corp. Vázquez has left trascender in the interior of the Government that he is not the owner of the properties, attributing them to a third party whom he did not identify.