Brazil expels Nicaraguan ambassador in retaliatory move

Brazil expels Nicaragua's ambassador in retaliation, highlighting growing rift between Ortega and former ally Lula da Silva.

Brazil's government on Thursday kicked out Nicaragua's ambassador to the nation in retaliation for a similar move by the Central American country's President Daniel Ortega.

The press office of Brazil's foreign ministry confirmed to The Associated Press that it had decided to expel Nicaraguan ambassador Fulvia Patricia Castro Matu. It said Brazil's ambassador to Nicaragua, Breno da Costa, was expelled Monday.

The office said da Costa was kicked out for failing to attend the 45th anniversary celebrations of Nicaragua's Sandinista revolution. Ortega, whose critics see him as an authoritarian leader, was a guerrilla fighter in that movement.

An ongoing rift between Ortega and Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, two former allies, has grown over the last year.

Two diplomatic sources in Brasilia told the AP that Nicaragua’s government protested two weeks ago over da Costa’s absence from the festivities, opening the way to kick him out. The sources, who spoke under condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the matter publicly, added that the Brazilian ambassador was following orders from the foreign ministry.

The foreign ministry hadn't previously confirmed local media reports of the Brazilian ambassador's expulsion.

Lula, who previously supported Ortega's presidency, steered away from Ortega after the Nicaraguan leader ignored a request from Pope Francis to stop repression against Catholic clergymen in the Central American nation.