“Denouncing the dictatorship of my country is not easy, but continuing to remain silent and defending the indefensible is impossible,” said McFields during a regular session of the OAS Permanent Council in which the situation in Nicaragua was not on the agenda.
“I have to speak, even if I am afraid, I have to speak, even if my future and that of my family are uncertain,” he added by videoconference.
“There are no independent political parties, no credible elections, there is no separation of powers, but factual powers,” he assured.
“It does not represent us”
From Managua, the Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry said that the one who is “duly accredited” before the OAS is Francisco Campbell Hooker. McFields “does not represent us,” he said in a note.
However, on the official OAS website, McFields appears as the permanent representative of Nicaragua, while Iván Lara is the alternate representative. Francisco Campbell, currently the Nicaraguan ambassador to the United States, does not appear.
As reported by the OAS at the time, McFields presented his credentials to Secretary General Luis Almagro on November 5, two days before the presidential elections in Nicaragua.
On Wednesday, McFields said he was speaking on behalf of the “177 political prisoners and more than 350 people who have lost their lives since 2018,” and “the thousands of public servants,” civilians and military, “forced by the regime” to “fake it” so as not to lose your job.