Nicaragua’s tobacco executives decided, by consensus, to cancel the 2019 International “Puro Sabor” (Pure taste) Tobacco Festival due to the ongoing crisis in the country that has left at least 325 dead, 600 hundred political prisoners, tens of thousands of exiles and an economy in a tailspin.
Read MoreThe president poured compliments on the institution, founded in 1979 and now headed by the father-in-law of his son, Commissioner General Francisco Diaz, in the midst of the country’s socio-political crisis, in which the Police has acted as the repressive arm, with a balance of 325 confirmed deaths and more than 600 political prisoners.
Read MoreThe private sector will not negotiate unilaterally with the government of Daniel Ortega, said Jose Adan Aguerri, President of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP). He maintains that it would be useless if any businessman, large or small, seeks such an agreement, because all credibility in Nicaragua was lost.
Read MoreThree months ago I moved to Mexico due to the social and political crisis in Nicaragua. I live in the capital, a fairly overwhelming city. Just to give you an idea: more than 6 million people ride the subway each day—the entire Nicaraguan population in just a couple train stations, a city with more than 8 million inhabitants.
Read More“The Constitution is not working; the laws are not worth the paper they are printed on,” said Ramirez, a former Vice President of Nicaragua (1985-1990) and recent winner of the Cervantes Award, the highest Spanish language literary standard. “Confiscation is an unconstitutional measure.” he noted.
Read MoreIn the style of common criminals, Nicaraguan Police agents waited until the loneliness of the late night and early morning to assault with brute force the headquarters of several non-profit NGOs, known for pointing out, denouncing and criticizing the abuses of the Ortega regime. Earlier last week, the same NGOs had their legal status revocked by the National Assembly.
Read MoreOver 600 Nicaraguans exiled in Costa Rica participated this Sunday in the Caravan for freedom and justice that left San Jose for the border with Nicaragua six hours north. Seventeen buses set off shortly after dawn for their protest against the regime of Daniel Ortega. According to Costa Rican immigration, over 50,000 Nicaraguans have fled to the neighboring country since the deadly repression and persecution began.
Read MoreYerling Aguilera and Jessica Cisneros are two of the spokespersons of the Nicaraguan International Solidarity Caravan in Spain. They arrived with a small suitcase and round-trip tickets. The approval of an antiterrorist law and the detention of two prominent activists —merchant leader Irlanda Jerez and the peasant leader Merardo Mairena—, brought them to Madrid so they could apply for political asylum.
Read MoreLess than 24 hours after the violent assault and looting of the newsrooms of the communication media outlets Confidencial and Esta Semana, the Ortega Police have occupied the facilities, ordering the removal of the security guards and installing half a dozen armed policemen inside the building, which was still disorderly and destroyed after the first attack.
Read MoreThe recent cancellation of the legal status of 9 Nicaraguan NGOs* has nothing to do with legality. An NGO like the Center for Human Rights (CENIDH), legally constituted and acting responsibly for 28 years can’t be suddenly annulled from one day to the next.
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