President of Nicaragua has released more than 200 political prisoners
2023.02.10 13:29
President of Nicaragua has released more than 200 political prisoners
By Kristina Sobol
Budrigannews.com – Nearly all of the prominent government critics imprisoned as a result of President Daniel Ortega’s recent crackdown on dissent were released on Thursday and flown to the United States.
The United States hailed the surprise release as a “constructive step” toward improving human rights, while Ortega later described it as a push to expel criminal provocateurs who sought to undermine Nicaragua.
Five former presidential hopefuls are among the political prisoners who have been released. They tried to challenge Ortega, who is becoming more authoritarian, in a 2021 election, but they were jailed in an unprecedented dragnet and political dissent was made illegal in the Central American nation.
In his televised remarks, Ortega said that all the prisoners tried to undermine national sovereignty and referred to them as “agents” of foreign powers, sitting in front of national and ruling party flags and being surrounded by high-ranking security personnel.
He said, “Let them have their mercenaries.”
An Ortega loyalist judge called the released prisoners, whom he claimed had been deported, “traitors” earlier on Thursday.
Hours later, at Dulles International Airport in Washington, throngs of people waved flags and chanted “Free!” as they waited to greet loved ones.
Reuters was told by a US official that Managua wanted to show that it wanted to improve relations with Washington.
In his remarks, Ortega insisted that he had not requested the lifting of economic sanctions or made any concessions to officials in the United States prior to the release.
He said, wagging his finger from side to side, “This wasn’t about any negotiation.”
After all of Ortega’s top opponents were rounded up and detained by police in the months leading up to the vote in 2021, including journalists and religious figures, Washington imposed sanctions and declared Ortega’s re-election to be a “sham.”
The release was hailed as “a constructive step towards addressing human rights abuses” by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement, and the statement also suggested that the two countries should continue their dialogue.
In a note to Congress, the administration of President Joe Biden stated that those who were released would be permitted to enter the United States on humanitarian and emergency grounds.
The allies of Ortega in Congress intended to amend the law to permit officials to deprive the freed prisoners of their citizenship, effectively putting an end to any hope they might have of one day returning home.
Some experts believe that the isolated Ortega was motivated to put his political survival ahead of everything else, even if there was no compromise that resulted in the mass release.
Central America analyst Valeria Vasquez of consultancy Control Risks stated, “It’s a strategic move.”
She went on to say that Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, “probably know they needed to do this to keep afloat, to stay in power.” She was referring to them.
A Nicaraguan judicial document showed that prominent student activist Lesther Aleman and former presidential candidates Juan Sebastian Chamorro, Felix Maradiaga, Miguel Mora, Medardo Mairena, and Arturo Cruz were among those released.
According to Blinken, prominent dual-citizen businessman Michael Healy, who had served 13 years in prison, was also freed.
Nicaraguan flags and signs bearing the name of those who had been freed were waved by many of the approximately 100 people who were waiting at Dulles Airport for the release of their loved ones. A popular national song, “My Nicaragua,” was performed by some.
The 28-year-old Ariana Gutierrez Pinto stated that she was eager to see her 63-year-old mother, Evelyn Pinto, who had been released just in time for her birthday.
“There were days when I lost hope, but my father and the rest of the family were always hopeful. Additionally, my mother was,” the younger Pinto stated. Hope never left her.”
Amnesty International’s Americas director Erika Guevara credited a years-long campaign of persistent pressure for facilitating the release of prisoners.
She cited the “courageous and relentless condemnation” of Ortega’s repression in Nicaragua and abroad as a factor in raising awareness of violations worldwide.
In addition to the 222 people who were kicked out and sent to the United States, there were two others who were freed but didn’t go. One of them was Catholic Bishop Rolando Alvarez, a well-known opponent of Ortega.
