Hugo Rodriguez, the United States' ambassador to Managua

Managua, October 2 (RHC)-- Nicaragua has banned Washington's new ambassador from entering the country, citing the envoy's disparaging and interventionist remarks about the Central American nation.

Nicaraguan Vice President Rosario Murillo said the American official, Hugo Rodriguez, "will not under any circumstances be admitted into Nicaragua," AFP reported.  "Let that be clear to the imperialists," she added.

Murillo blasted the envoy for his "interfering" attitude towards Managua, referring to the "disrespectful" comments he had made before the U.S. Senate about her country.  Hugo Rodriguez, whose appointment was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Thursday, had described Nicaragua as a "pariah state in the region" and claimed that Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's government was a "dictatorship."

"I would support using all economic and diplomatic tools to bring about a change in direction in Nicaragua," he testified before the U.S. Congress.  

Nicaragua also asked the European Union’s ambassador, Bettina Muscheidt, to leave the country on Wednesday, declaring her “persona non grata.”  The decision followed a statement by the EU issued at the United Nations last week, in which it urged Ortega to "restore democracy."

This is not the first time either the U.S. or the EU are caught meddling in Latin American countries' internal affairs.  Over the past decades, many of the region's countries, including Venezuela, Cuba, Bolivia, and Ecuador, have found Washington and Brussels in breach of their sovereignty.

Instances of the West's interference in these countries' internal affairs have featured its throwing substantial political and financial support behind anti-government groups, its lobbying against the countries across international organizations such as the UN, and its levying numerous rounds of sanctions against the nations.