Q24N — The regime of Daniel Ortega continues to empty its jails of ‘political prisoners’. The latest by the authoritarian Nicaraguan government saw 135 political prisoners in Nicaragua seek out a new life in Guatemala.
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo confirmed Thursday that his country is hosting “135 Nicaraguan brothers, freed political prisoners,” after their “release”.
“Our country has shown its firm democratic conviction, which roundly rejects threats of authoritarian regression. Today we reaffirm that commitment and return the international solidarity that we have received so many times, by welcoming 135 Nicaraguan brothers, freed political prisoners. Only in freedom, democracy, life and humanity flourish. Welcome, Nicaraguan brothers!” said Arévalo on X.
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The 135 Nicaraguans arrived “on a single flight” at about 6:20 am to Guatemala, as confirmed by the Foreign Ministry of that country.
On Thursday, the United States had announced, through its National Security Advisor to the Presidency, Jake Sullivan, that it had obtained the release of 135 “political prisoners unjustly detained” in Nicaragua, who, according to its statement, would be welcomed in Guatemala.
“The United States appreciates the leadership and generosity of the Government of Guatemala in graciously accepting these Nicaraguan citizens. Once in Guatemala, these individuals will be offered the opportunity to apply for legal ways to rebuild their lives in the United States or other countries,” Sullivan said.
Among the 135 people released are 13 members of the Texas-based NGO Mountain Gateway, as well as Catholic laypeople, students, and others who the Biden Administration, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, “consider a threat to their authoritarian government,” according to the statement.
Biden and his number two, Democratic candidate in the November 5 elections, Kamala Harris, thanked Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo for “his continued leadership throughout the region in addressing humanitarian issues and defending democratic freedom.”
“The United States once again calls on the Government of Nicaragua to immediately cease the arbitrary arrest and detention of its citizens for the mere exercise of their fundamental freedoms,” added Sullivan, according to whom the release of the 135 people cited has taken place “for humanitarian reasons.”
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In February 2023, the Nicaraguan Executive banished 222 political prisoners and expelled them from the country. On that occasion, after their release, they were transferred to the international airport in Managua to board a plane bound for Washington.
At least 151 opponents and critics of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua were in the country’s prisons, according to a report on August 6 by the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners, whose data is endorsed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
Nicaragua has been experiencing a political and social crisis since April 2018, which worsened after the controversial elections of November 2021, in which Ortega was re-elected for a fifth term – the fourth consecutive – with his main contenders in prison and whom he later expelled from the country, depriving them of their nationality and political rights after accusing them of being “coup plotters” and “treason.”
At least 36 opponents and critics of the Nicaraguan government remain in prison in that country, the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners denounced on Sunday.
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“We counted 36 political prisoners in Nicaragua’s penitentiary systems,” of which 33 are men and 3 are women, the Mechanism indicated in a report, the data of which are endorsed by the IACHR.
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