The President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, lashed out at Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday over the war in Gaza, calling him a “son of the devil.” Ortega attacked the Israeli leader at an event marking the 45th anniversary of the Nicaraguan police, three days after Managua announced the severance of diplomatic relations with the Hebrew state.
“At the head of the Israeli government is a prime minister who is the son of the devil. Why? Because he carries out a policy of terror and is [Adolf] Hitler,” the former dictator of Nazi Germany (1933-1945), Ortega said in his speech. “The Prime Minister of Israel is Hitler […], just like the one who presides over Ukraine [Volodymyr Zelensky, who] is another Nazi son of Hitler,” added the Head of State.
The ceremony was attended by his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, government officials, uniformed personnel, and several foreign diplomats. Ortega also thanked China and Russia for their cooperation, countries with which he has strengthened ties in recent years.
On Friday, Nicaragua announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Israel, a country Ortega had been criticizing for its war against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in Gaza. This decision was largely symbolic, as exchanges between the two countries are almost non-existent and Israel did not have a resident ambassador in Managua.
Israel and Nicaragua had reestablished diplomatic relations on March 28, 2017, after Ortega broke ties in 2010. Managua had also cut diplomatic ties with Israel in 1982, during the Sandinista government led by Ortega after the revolutionary guerrilla movement took power in 1979 and overthrew dictator Anastasio Somoza.
