The Diplomat
Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya and her counterparts from Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala, Panama and the Dominican Republic have called for the “immediate release” of Nicaragua’s opposition leaders recently detained by the Daniel Ortega regime.
In a joint communiqué, the foreign ministers express their “deep concern over the recent actions deployed by the Government of Nicaragua against important opposition leaders in that country, which undermine the free exercise of democracy.” “We urge their immediate release, and the restitution of their political rights,” continue the foreign ministers, who remind Nicaragua “of its obligation to respect all its international obligations, particularly in the area of human rights.”
“It is imperative to avoid actions that impose restrictions on the free participation of all political actors in society in election processes, and political pluralism and freedom of expression must be ensured,” the joint communiqué continues. “The people of Nicaragua deserve the guarantee of fair, free, independent, transparent, credible, inclusive, and internationally observed elections,” concludes the text, which was agreed by the ministers in Costa Rica on the occasion of their participation in the Spain-SICA Summit. SICA (Central American Integration System) is made up of Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama, as well as the Dominican Republic as an associate country.
At least four potential challengers to Daniel Ortega have been arrested five months before the November 7 presidential elections, in which the president will seek his fourth consecutive term in office. Specifically, they are Cristiana Chamorro Barrios (president of the Violeta Foundation and main opposition asset to overthrow Ortega), Arturo Cruz (Ortega’s government ambassador to the United States between 2007 and 2009), academic and presidential aspirant Félix Maradiaga and Juan Sebastián Chamorro (former vice-minister of Finance). In addition, other opponents are currently under arrest.
The United Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS) and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) have demanded the immediate release of the opposition leaders and the Spanish Government expressed last Wednesday its “deep concern” over the latest arrests of electoral pre-candidates and political actors of the opposition in Nicaragua and demanded their “immediate release”. The regime has accused the detainees of being “coup plotters” and of trying to destabilize the country by inciting “foreign interference in internal affairs” and calling for “military interventions” against the government of Sandinista Daniel Ortega.
