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Taiwan denies offering loan in run-up to Nicaragua election

ROC Central News Agency

12/10/2021 05:53 PM

Taipei, Dec. 10 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has denied that loans were pledged to Nicaragua in the lead up to the Central American nation's Nov. 7 election, following the country's diplomatic switch to Beijing Friday.

MOFA made the comment after the London-based Financial Times cited reports that Taiwan's government had agreed to provide a new loan to Nicaragua in the run-up to the election, which saw President Daniel Ortega re-elected amid accusations of voting irregularities by the United States.

According to Financial Times' report, Taiwanese banks refused to extend the loan pledged by the Taiwanese authorities for fear of violating U.S. sanctions on Nicaragua, which were extended in the aftermath of Ortega's reelection.

MOFA said Taiwan had agreed to provide a loan of US$100 million in February 2019 to its former ally but stressed that the financing was meant to help Nicaragua rebuild its infrastructure in the wake of social unrest beginning in 2018, which was sparked by opposition to Ortega's continued rule.

The bank that MOFA had partnered with ultimately never provided the loan to Nicaragua due to what the ministry described as allocation issues, without elaborating.

MOFA added that the loan had been planned as "humanitarian assistance" and was not related in any way to last month's disputed presidential election.

The United States started imposing a series of sanctions on Nicaraguan officials in 2018 due to what it described as human rights abuses and rampant corruption in the country under Ortega's government.

Washington rolled out new sanctions on Nov. 15, denouncing Ortega's reelection a week prior as a "sham" and criticizing the Nicaraguan government for suppressing dissent and jailing opposition leaders.

On Friday, Nicaragua announced that it had switched diplomatic recognition to China, adding it would also cease all official contact and relationships with Taiwan.

Taipei later blamed China for the move, saying Beijing had poached its former ally.

Following Nicaragua's defection, the number of countries offering diplomatic recognition to Taipei is down to 14.

(By Teng Pei-ju)

Enditem/ASG