has unleashed violent repression. He has consolidated his power, squashed popular protests, thrown his political opponents in prison and hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans have fled.
Lawyers and family members of the prisoners say they were kept in horrific conditions. Some had spent many years in jail, others were arrested in the run-up to Nicaragua's 2021 presidential elections.. They are clergy, youth activists, journalists and members of the opposition, including Félix Maradiaga and Cristiana María Chamorro Barrios, who were both candidates who challenged Ortega in the election., without naming the freed prisoners.
Sandinista leader Ortega, who first governed Nicaragua in the 1980s following the country's bloody civil war, returned to power in 2007. His rule has become increasingly authoritarian with a crackdown on all protests, with opposition figures jailed and critical voices in the media silenced or forced into exile.
The election in November 2021 was condemned as a sham by Washington, the European Union and international human rights organizations. Ortega governs with his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, and a tight-knit group of trusted figures in the police, the military and parliament.
Just like Castro, I’m sure they’ll all be political prisoners. NOT!
This is such an odd story on the face of it. It says one of the 222 is a U.S. citizen, but they were all sent to the U.S. for 'humanitarian reasons.' What does that mean? We have plenty of room, but so do most countries. There's something unexplained here.
Quite common. I used to work with ppl who had to flee their Country due to political affiliation at a bank in CA. To go from diplomat to banker is quite something but they are safer here.
Good 👍. The US can help them fight the dictatorship from exile!
Republicans will love that.