Nicaragua removes signal of CNN en Español channel
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Nicaragua's government says the content broadcasted by CNN en Español is incompatible with the national sovereignty guaranteed by the country's constitution.
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Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega
The government of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua withdrew the signal of the news channel CNN en Español in the country, the US media outlet reported Thursday.
"The Nicaraguan government pulled our television signal, denying Nicaraguans news and information from our network, which they have trusted for more than 25 years," CNN en Español confirmed in a statement.
CNN en Español, a pan-American Spanish-language news channel owned by CNN Global, a news division of Warner Bros. Discovery, stressed "the vital role that freedom of the press plays in a healthy democracy."
"CNN en Español will continue to fulfill its responsibility to the Nicaraguan public by providing our news links on CNNEspanol.com, so they can access information that is not otherwise available," the statement read.
On her part, Vice President and Government spokesperson, Rosario Murillo, explained that the country's authorities found the content broadcasted by CNN en Español to be incompatible with the national sovereignty guaranteed by the constitution.
The Nicaraguan constitution states that independence, sovereignty, and self-determination are the inalienable rights of the people of Nicaragua, according to Murillo.
Murillo considered that the right to media is a social responsibility and must be exercised with strict adherence to constitutional principles, stressing that the law punishes any act of foreign interference.
The spokesperson justified that the decision to withdraw the signal of CNN en Español is in defense of the country's sovereignty.
While the United States described the Nicaraguan media's decision as an infringement on freedom of expression and the right to access information, Washington, in an act of double standards and media censorship, banned most of the Russian media after the start of the war in Ukraine.
Tensions between Managua and Washington
It is noteworthy that tensions between Nicaragua and the US increased following the Latin American nation's latest presidential election.
In July, Nicaraguan authorities decided to prevent newly-appointed US Ambassador Hugo Rodriguez from entering the country owing to his previous hostile statements toward Managua, according to a statement from the Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry.
"The government of Nicaragua, in use of its powers and in exercise of its national sovereignty, immediately withdraws the approval granted to the candidate Hugo Rodriguez," the Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Rodriguez was nominated by US President Joe Biden on May 6, 2022, to be the next US ambassador in Nicaragua, succeeding Kevin Sullivan.
Rodriguez previously stated that as US ambassador to Nicaragua, he would support the use of all economic and political measures to shift Nicaragua's political orientation.
In addition, the United States excluded in June Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua from the summit of the Americas, claiming that the authorities in those countries we "not democratic".
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega had been banned from the summit, despite being democratically elected as president for the fourth term in his country.
US intervention in Nicaragua's affairs
Nicaragua's elections last year sparked disapproval from the White House.
Biden said, "What Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, orchestrated today was a pantomime election that was neither free nor fair, and most certainly not democratic."
The US President accused Nicaragua's government of imprisoning nearly 40 opposition figures, including potential presidential candidates, since May.
US, EU sanction Nicaraguan officials
After Ortega's election, the US and European Union sanctioned Nicaraguan officials, including the defense minister, officials in the military, the state-owned Nicaraguan Mining company, and the company responsible for telecommunications and postal services.
Washington and the European Union have already imposed sanctions on Ortega in June of 2021 as part of its pressure campaign to subdue the South-American country. A month later, the US imposed visa restrictions on 100 members of Nicaragua's National Assembly and judicial system.
