Ortega Exiles 135 Political Prisoners, Sent to Guatemala
The former political prisoners were welcomed in Guatemala, the United States reported. The Ortega-Murillo regime remains silent.
HAVANA TIMES – In the early hours of Thursday, September 5th, the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship released 135 political prisoners, who had been held in various prisons across the country and exiled them to Guatemala, revealed the US government.
“The Biden-Harris Administration today secured the release of 135 political prisoners unjustly detained in Nicaragua, for humanitarian reasons. No one should be imprisoned for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights to free expression, association, and religious practice,” stated U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan in a press release.
The released individuals have already landed in Guatemala and will be “offered the opportunity to seek legal means to rebuild their lives in the United States or other countries through the Safe Mobility Office initiative.”
“President (Joe) Biden and Vice President (Kamala) Harris thank President (Bernardo) Arévalo for his continued leadership across the region in addressing humanitarian issues and defending democratic freedom,” the statement said.
Among the 135 Nicaraguan citizens released are 13 members of the Texas-based organization “Puerta de la Montaña,” “along with Catholic laypeople, students, and others whom Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo consider a threat to their authoritarian government.”
“The United States once again urges the Nicaraguan government to immediately cease the arbitrary detention of its citizens for merely exercising their fundamental freedoms,” Sullivan insisted.
Guatemalan President Welcomes Them
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo welcomed the Nicaraguans on his social media. “Today we reaffirm that commitment and return the international solidarity that we have received many times by welcoming 135 freed Nicaraguan political prisoners,” he said.
“Our country has shown its strong democratic conviction, which firmly rejects the threats of authoritarian regression,” he stated.
The Guatemalan government informed that, together with the United States and humanitarian partners, they “will temporarily provide food, shelter, and medical assistance, including psychological support to help them recover and begin the difficult work of rebuilding their lives.”
The Ortega-Murillo regime has remained silent on the mass release of political prisoners. In February 2023, it released 222 political prisoners who were sent to the United States, and in January 2024, it exiled Matagalpa’s Bishop, Monsignor Rolando Alvarez, along with 18 other clergy members to the Vatican.
First published in Spanish by Confidencial and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.