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Nicaragua announces withdrawal from Central American Parliament

By Thomson Reuters Oct 4, 2026 | 9:52 AM

(Corrects byline)

By Gabreila Selser

MEXICO CITY, Oct 4 (Reuters) – Nicaragua is withdrawing from the Central American Parliament, furthering its isolation on the international ​stage as the country is accused of ‌rampant human rights abuses.

In a statement on Saturday, the foreign ministry said that it had decided to denounce the 1987 treaty establishing the six-country parliament “in the full exercise of ‌its ​sovereignty”. It said the move ⁠would take immediate effect.

The ⁠government of Nicaragua did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

The action followed a resolution on Friday from the Organization of American ​States that called on Nicaraguan authorities to free political prisoners and restore civil liberties. Nicaragua ⁠left the OAS in 2023, ⁠saying the diplomatic organization had become ​a tool for US interventionism.

In 2025, Nicaragua also said it ​would withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights ‌Council following a UN report that urged the international community to address human rights violations by Nicaragua.

Nicaragua has been in the grip of a political ⁠crisis since April 2018, when social protests that were suppressed by police resulted in more than 350 deaths, ⁠2,000 injuries and ‌thousands of detentions and people fleeing ⁠the country.

Last July, the government run ​by ‌Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario ​Murillo, announced ⁠the country would no longer hold elections. Ortega has continuously held power since 2007 following an earlier presidential term in the 1980s.

(Reporting by Gabriela Ruth Selser in Mexico City; writing by Leila Miller; Editing by ​Alex Richardson)