Nicaragua - February 2023

The Ortega regime released 222 political prisoners, one of them an American citizen, and expelled them from Nicaragua to the United States, as a result of diplomatic negotiations between both nations. The Nicaraguan government’s critics included members of the country’s opposition, activists, student leaders, and entrepreneurs, who have been granted humanitarian parole in the United States. While officials from both countries disclosed that the Nicaraguan government did not seek anything in return, and that this measure was aimed to renew dialogue with the US government, the same day of the release the Nicaraguan judiciary characterized the political prisoners as traitors and deprived them of their civil and political rights. The legislature also passed a reform by which those declared traitors to the homeland would be stripped of their nationalities. Bishop Rolando Alvarez, found guilty last month for treason, dissemination of fake news and undermining national integrity, refused to leave Nicaragua along with the other political prisoners and was sentenced to 26 years imprisonment. 

Days later, the judiciary announced that 94 additional dissidents and critics of the government –many living in exile- would be stripped of their nationalities and their assets in Nicaragua would be confiscated. 

Sources: The New York Times, The Guardian, British Broadcasting Corporation, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights