The Maternity Home in the Confiscated Confidencial Offices (Photo feature)
Official photos reveal that the furniture in the MINSA “maternity home,” except for beds and mattresses, are part of the furniture stolen from Confidencial.
HAVANA TIMES – The Nicaraguan Ministry of Health (MINSA) inaugurated a maternity home on February 23rd in the premises confiscated from Confidencial in December 2018. It uses furniture and equipment that were left in the offices after the raid and military occupation of the independent media outlets Confidencial, Esta Semana, Esta Noche, Revista Niu and Cabal consulting firm.
The Ortega-Murillo regime thus executed the last act of confiscation of Confidencial’s newsroom. They did it in complicity with the Ministry of Health. According to Murillo, MINSA received the “invaluable support” of Taiwan. To date, that government has not commented on its funds being used on illegally confiscated private property.
In the last three weeks, frenzied activity by state workers, heavily guarded by armed police, was noticed around the confiscated building. Also, on the morning of Sunday, February 21, the president of the National Assembly, Gustavo Porras, came to the building to inspect the work on the “maternity home”.
On Monday, the Ministry of Health put up three tents and installed sound equipment outside the confiscated building. Chairs were placed in preparation for the inauguration on Tuesday. Photographs released by official propaganda media show the conditions of the maternity home. In it furniture and office equipment are observed. This includes a glass table from the recording studio of the “Esta Semana” program, redesigned two weeks prior to the raid.
Photos of the “maternity home” prove the theft
On the morning of Tuesday, February 23, 2021, the Ministry of Health (MINSA) summoned government media and pregnant women to inaugurate the” Camila Lopez” maternity home, which was “equipped” in the Confidencial newsroom building, confiscated on December 14, 2018. Photo: Government.
The property that belongs to Confidencial, and which is now occupied by MINSA, was painted pink as confirmed in this photograph. The furniture used belongs to this media outlet, raided on December 13, 2018, and occupied by the Police the following day. The Smart TV also belongs to the studio of “Esta Semana.” Photo: Government.
The team from Revista Niu, of Confidencial, used to work in this space. The shelves are also part of the stolen furniture. Photo: Government.
MINSA used the desks and chairs that were used by the Confidencial team. As can be seen in this photograph, they left the shelves. The only “work” done was to close a door that connected two spaces in the newsroom and paint the walls. Photo: Government.
This space was the studio of the Esta Semana and Esta Noche programs. It was redesigned two weeks before the raid and occupation. The studio panels can be seen, and the dining room also belongs to Confidencial. In this space, only the fruits were brought by MINSA. The studio doors, broken during the raid, was uninstalled. Photo: Government.
On the second floor of the Confidencial building, where the Cabal consulting firm operated, the Ministry of Health installed a kind of supposed bedroom. Only the two beds at the back are from MINSA. The rest of the furniture in the space is owned by Cabal. The center table is from “Esta Semana’s” studio. Even in the center of it you can see the program’s logo. Photo: Government.
MINSA dismantled the office of the director Carlos Fernando Chamorro. They painted it pink and ordered the installation of desks where supposedly a sewing area will work for women who are cared in the “Camila Lopez” maternity home. Photo: Government.
In the administrative offices of Confidencial, MINSA set up an “early stimulation area for pregnant women.” As confirmed by this image, they only removed the furniture, painted pink and brought mattresses and yoga balls. Photo: Government.
The pregnant women who give birth or are cared for in this maternity home will have to climb more than 15 steps to access the second floor of the building, where the Ministry of Health located the supposed bedrooms. Photo: Government.
As confirmed by VP Rosario Murillo, this maternity home was financed with the cooperation from the Government of Taiwan. However, there was no diplomatic presence on the part of the embassy. Such is customary in the inaugurations of maternity homes and other projects.In 2019 the governments of Nicaragua and Taiwan approved the “Maintenance and Repair of Maternity Homes and Health Centers” project with which more than 50 maternity homes have been repaired and equipped in the country.