On March 16th, the Governing Council appointed diplomat Xinia Vargas Mora as the new Costa Rican ambassador to Nicaragua; vacancy held since July 31st, 2018. The appointment was confirmed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship (MREC) in a statement, which argues that the decision to appoint a person to the position “responds to assessments of a geopolitical order, of convenience and opportunity.”
According to the press release, it was considered appropriate to have a representation of the highest level in the neighboring country to the north as long as full diplomatic relations are maintained with it, with the aim of having adequate tools for making decisions that they involve both nations.
The last ambassador that Costa Rica had in Nicaragua was Eduardo Trejos Lalli, who was appointed by the President of the Republic, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, as Director of Intelligence and National Security on April 26th, 2018.
Troubled neighbor
However, that appointment was made until on August 1st, 2018, due to postponements that were taken in the context of the sociopolitical crisis that nation experienced that year, marked by massive protests – led by university students – against the regime of Daniel Ortega Saavedra.
The repression of the demonstrations left more than 300 dead and around 90,000 exiles, most of whom migrated to the national territory. Since then, no other official has been appointed to the post. Vargas Mora will take office on May 1st.
Between 2018 and 2019, Alvarado Quesada received criticism from Ortega Saavedra and his regime; Even in 2020, on January 21st, the president reiterated to the then Secretary of State of the United States, Mike Pompeo, his concern about the violation of human rights in the neighboring country, during a bilateral meeting that both held in the Presidential House.
Who is the new ambassador?
Xinia Vargas Mora is the current Costa Rican ambassador to the Dominican Republic. She began working at the Foreign Ministry in 1981 and entered the diplomatic career on May 13th, 1993, according to information provided by the Yellow House.
She also served as general director of the Foreign Service, alternate director of International Cooperation, head of the Consular Department, Training Coordinator of the Manuel María de Peralta Foreign Service Institute and head of the Department of Immunities and Privileges of the State Protocol and Ceremonial Directorate, and Consul General in Los Angeles, California.
She was also part of official delegations and participated in negotiation processes within the framework of joint commissions and bilateral political consultations, of instances of the Central American Integration System (SICA) and of other forums for political dialogue or cooperation, such as the Cooperation Forum of Latin America and East Asia (Focalae), the Mesoamerica Project, the Ibero-American General Secretariat (Segib), the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) and others.
She has a master’s degree in Diplomacy from the University of Costa Rica (UCR), a degree in Law and a notary public from the Central University and a bachelor’s degree in Education Sciences from the State Distance University (UNED).
