Taiwan's government is pushing back on a posthumous claim by its former ambassador that it walked away from Nicaragua on purpose — bad news for the late envoy's reputation, which an official inquiry says fell short of loyalty to the country.

• A newly published memoir by Wu Chin-mu, Taiwan's second-to-last ambassador to Nicaragua, says Taipei chose to side with the United States and gave up the relationship.
• The foreign ministry says it fights to keep every diplomatic ally until the last moment, and points to the watchdog Control Yuan's findings instead.
• Taipei blames Daniel Ortega, saying his party turned authoritarian, jailed rivals during the 2021 election, and then dropped Taiwan for China.
• The Control Yuan concluded the real cause was that the U.S. and more than 40 other democracies refused to recognize Ortega's election win, pushing him to seek Beijing's backing.
• The same report faults Wu for never cabling warnings home and for accepting Nicaraguan citizenship a day after the split, though weak rules at the time blocked any penalty.

Outlook: The dispute is likely to stay a fight over the historical record, with no change to Taiwan's severed ties with Nicaragua.