US Embassy in Nicaragua Warns of Parole Info Scam
“Have you seen someone advertising on social media that they guarantee the approval of Humanitarian Parole? That’s a lie,” warns Gaby Canavati, press director of the US Embassy in Managua.
HAVANA TIMES – One day after the official Nuevo Radio Ya published an advertisement for an alleged lawyer in the United States who processes passports and humanitarian paroles, the United States embassy in Managua warned Nicaraguans not to be scammed. An embassy spokesperson debunked the lawyer’s promise, saying: “It’s a lie.”
The lawyer’s announcement appeared on the Facebook page of Nueva Radio Ya, a powerful radio station owned by members of the ruling Ortega-Murillo family. The October 16th post read: “Dr. Eduardo Polanco Olivere. The only lawyer who guarantees your passport processing and the approval of humanitarian paroles.”
At 5 pm on October 17, following the publication of this ad, the United States embassy in Managua posted a warning on their Twitter (now “X”) account: “Don’t be scammed! Only through the US Immigration Law can parole applications be approved. For more information visit: http://uscis.gov/es/CHNV.”
The post is accompanied by a video, where a US official says: “Hello, just to remind you that the humanitarian parole process has no cost. If someone is charging you to obtain parole, don’t believe them. The application process is quick, simple, and free, and no one can guarantee that you will get parole,” says Gaby Canavati, press director of the US embassy in Managua.
She adds: “Have you seen someone announcing on social media that they’ll guarantee the approval of your application for humanitarian parole? That’s a lie. Remember – there’s no cost whatsoever, and no one can guarantee your parole except the immigration laws of the United States. Don’t let yourselves be fooled. For more information visit: www.uscis.gov/es/CHNV.
While the functionary was giving this warning, the video showed clips of the misleading advertisement the Ortega radio station and media outlet had published.
To date, the lawyer’s claim that he could process passports and humanitarian parole applications for Nicaraguans still appears on the Facebook page of the Ortega-Murillo family’s radio station.
In every crisis there are those who take advantage of the credulity of desperate people.
I don’t even know if this misleading publicity is part of the strings that Ortega and Murillo have inside the country. At this point the paranoia has become normalized.