Nicaragua denies approval of US ambassador-designate Natasha Franceschi

The Nicaraguan government has denied approval to Natasha Franceschi, nominated by President Donald Trump as the new US ambassador to Managua. This was announced by US Undersecretary of State Christopher Landau during the consultation meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Organization of American States (OAS) on the situation in the Central American country.

Franceschi was confirmed by the US Senate on September 30th and would have had to wait for Managua's approval before taking on the role. The diplomat, speaking on September 24 before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, promised to maintain "diplomatic pressure" on the government of co-presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, husband and wife, using all the tools at Washington's disposal. The United States has not had a resident ambassador to Nicaragua for three years.