Nicaragua revokes ambassador appointment after Colombia plans embassy closure

Nicaragua revoked the appointment of Harold de Jesús Delgado as its ambassador to Colombia on July 24, 2026, after Colombia's incoming government announced it would not maintain an embassy in Managua. The decision, formalized in a presidential decree published in La Gaceta, comes two weeks before President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella takes office. Source: infobae

Designated Colombian Foreign Minister Omar Bula Escobar stated, "Nosotros no queremos apoyar dictaduras" and explained that embassies in dictatorships legitimize them. Source: diariolibree Bula Escobar confirmed that Colombia will also close its embassy in Cuba. Source: listindiario

The diplomatic rift is longstanding: Colombia and Nicaragua are in a dispute before the International Court of Justice over Caribbean continental shelf. Relations deteriorated sharply in September 2024 after President Gustavo Petro expressed solidarity with writer Gioconda Belli and compared Daniel Ortega to Augusto Pinochet. Ortega responded by calling Petro "basura," "traidor," and an "agente del imperio yanqui." Source: infobae

• In August 2023, Nicaragua dismissed Colombia's concern over the closure of the Jesuit-run Universidad Centroamericana as "insolencia e ignorancia vulgar." Source: listindiario
• The new Colombian government, under de la Espriella, aims to distance itself from regimes it views as authoritarian, signaling a significant shift in foreign policy. Source: diariolibree