Nicaraguan FM Denis Moncada Says US Must Pay “Historical Debt”

On Tuesday, Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Moncada said that United States (U.S.) has the legal obligation to pay a historical debt to Nicaragua due to an international court ruling over 30 years ago

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On Tuesday, Moncada handed a letter, signed by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, requesting that the UN chief circulate a document about Nicaragua's position on the U.S. obligation to the UN General Assembly. "There is a historical debt to the Nicaraguan people that 37 years later has not been settled by the United States," reads the letter. 

According to the document, the International Court of Justice issued a judgment on June 27, 1986, ordering the United States to indemnify Nicaragua for all the damages caused by the U.S. military and paramilitary activities against Nicaragua.

"The United States has a legal obligation under this sentence to indemnify, pay the damages that they committed against the peoples, the state and the government of Nicaragua," Moncada said in an official statement at the UN headquarters, adding that "the sentence is still in place," he said. "It's binding, and it's obligatory, and should be complied."

According to official reports, the court judgment found that the U.S. had violated obligations under international law of not to intervene in the affairs of another state, not to use force against another state, not to infringe the sovereignty of another state, and not to interrupt peaceful maritime commerce.

Reports also show that, the U.S. refused to participate in the proceedings at that time and rejected the UN Security Council resolution and voted against the General Assembly resolution urgently calling for full and immediate compliance with the judgment.

According to Moncada, the U.S. and some of its allies want to impose their own rules without compliance with international law and the Charter of the United Nations;

Moncada also said that the U.S. has double standards on human rights and lacks respect for other states' sovereignty.