The government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) has decided to expel Nicaragua's ambassador, Fulvia Patricia Castro Matus, from Brazil, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said this Thursday (8th). The Itamaraty's decision is a response to the expulsion of Brazil's ambassador to Nicaragua, Breno de Souza da Costa, by the regime of dictator Daniel Ortega.

Relations between the two countries were almost entirely frozen after Lula unsuccessfully attempted to intervene for the release of a Catholic bishop persecuted by the regime. With the expulsion of the ambassadors, relations have reached an even lower point. The event that triggered Costa's expulsion was the ambassador’s absence from a July event celebrating the 45th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution, the movement that overthrew then-dictator Anastacio Somoza (1925-1980). The absence angered local authorities. Costa acted under the guidance of Itamaraty. Given the frozen relations, he had instructions from Brasília not to attend certain political events of the regime.

Lula’s PT party has historically been an ally of Ortega, leader of the Sandinistas and in power continuously since 2007. The notice from Ortega's regime that Costa should leave the country was given about two weeks ago. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs made efforts with Nicaragua to clarify the decision and was awaiting a definitive response from Managua. The order was upheld, and Costa left Nicaragua on Thursday, according to Itamaraty. Ministry officials said the government had been considering what action to take in response to Costa's expulsion. The decision for reciprocity was made this Thursday.