Nicaragua: Ortega’s Agents Deport US Journalist-Translator
Judy Butler came to Nicaragua in 1983 and is well known for her decades of work translating for the monthly magazine Envio.
By Circles Robinson
HAVANA TIMES – Judy Butler, 83, was detained and summarily expelled from Nicaragua on Tuesday May 21.
At around 1 pm, with no warning, seven police officers and two plain-clothes agents demanded entry into her home in the countryside, near the town of Ticuantepe, some 8 miles south of the capital Managua. After curtly informing her that she was being deported, they allowed her a few minutes to pack a small bag with clothes and medicines, then took her away. Other police remained behind, occupying her home.
No warrant was shown, no reasons were offered and there was no response to her questions about why the police were taking this action. The only reply she received was that they were following orders, and she was being deported.
Judy was taken first to an immigration office, where she was held for several hours, and then to the airport. During her time with immigration officials, they also refused to offer any reason for her deportation. She has resided in Nicaragua since 1983 and was registered as a permanent resident.
As is the norm for the Ortega-Regime over the last six years, Judy’s two phones were taken by the police, while her computer remained in the occupied house. The fate of the house itself and the possessions she left is unknown.
Judy Butler is now in California where she arrived Wednesday morning, tired and still trying to assimilate the sudden life-changing events. She is being accompanied by friends and family.
In her long journalistic career, Judy worked for NACLA (North American Congress on Latin America) editing their Report on the Americas from 1977 until 1983, when she went to Nicaragua and decided to stay. During the 80s, she worked for the Center for Information and Documentation on Nicaragua’s Atlantic Coast region. Her work for the Center included helping put together a regional magazine. For several decades, she was in charge of translation for the English edition of the acclaimed monthly magazine Envio of the Central American University (UCA) in Managua.
She has also been a translator of English subtitles for films produced by “Camila Films,” and several TV series.
Judy is known for her highly professional work editing and translating for public institutions, national and international non-profit organizations, and individuals. She is also a lover of nature and her cat, which fortunately, a neighbor has rescued.
The Ortega government authorities have not offered their version of the expulsion of the US citizen.
How terrible it is to know that someone sitting in his comfortable chair is making arbitrary decisions about the stay of people who have offered so much to a country that is not their homeland.