Colombia's President Calls Nicaraguan Counterpart A 'Dictator'

Colombian President Ivan Duque on Thursday accused his Nicaraguan counterpart Daniel Ortega of being a "dictator" and said ​​"dictators must be put in their place."

"Ortega is a dictator. Everyone knows what he is doing with Nicaragua -- lacerating his people, closing universities, imprisoning opponents, intimidating the judiciary," Duque told reporters.

His remarks come a day after Ortega accused Colombia of not wanting to recognize a ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the rights of both countries in the Caribbean Sea.

"Colombia does not want Nicaragua to protect those waters, those seas, and they want to have a free route to continue trafficking drugs to Europe and the United States," Ortega said during an official ceremony to commemorate National Dignity Day.

Duque responded to the Nicaraguan leader by saying that Colombia will always defend its sovereignty and its democracy and claimed that Ortega is a "populist," as is Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.

"And obviously what we have always done is to raise our voice, because we defend democracy. It is clear when he (Ortega) withdraws from the Organization of American States (OAS) what his attitude is," he pointed out.

The Nicaraguan president announced in April that his country had withdrawn from the OAS, despite the regional bloc saying the move was only allowed in 2023.

On April 21, the ICJ found that Colombia violated Nicaragua's "sovereignty and jurisdiction" in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) by authorizing fishing activities in Nicaraguan waters and ordered the South American country to "immediately cease" its actions.

Nicaragua and Colombia have disputed the sovereignty of the archipelago of the islands of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina for decades and also the right to freely exercise activities in the disputed waters.

In November 2013, Nicaragua accused Colombia of failing to comply with a ruling issued by the ICJ in 2012 which established new maritime boundaries between the two nations. ​​​​​​​ -