In the last fifteen days, the regime’s police have kidnapped five relatives of members of the Democratic Renovating Union (Unamos) —formerly the Sandinista Renovating Movement (MRS)— with the aim that the opponents, according to lawyer Juan Carlos Arce, surrender to the authorities, despite the fact that they have not committed any crime.
“There is an unprecedented situation, which is that in the search for a person the family is captured, detained and practically kidnapped to force the person they were looking for to surrender. It is an exceptional situation, which only reveals a State that has no limits in its repressive action, that does not respect the most minimal guarantees and human rights”, he pointed out. the member of the Nicaragua Never Again Collective.
“In Nicaragua we are facing a regime that attacks families in order to capture, intimidate and send a message, because what they do is send a message to the population, saying: ‘We have no limits, we can do whatever we want. wins and there is no institution or law that prevents us from doing so,'” he added. Arce in an interview with the program Tonight.
The Blue and White National Monitoring, according to a report by CONFIDENTIALrecorded between September 4 and 18 thirteen arrests of members or relatives of members of Unamos in Managua (five); South Caribbean (three); Leon (two); Chontales (one); Carazo (one); and Matagalpa (one). Of these, only the Caribbean citizen was released and the others are, for the most part, in the cells of the Directorate of Judicial Assistance, known as El Chipote.
Arce explained that as a Collective they are aware of seven of these arrests, which at the request of the families have not been disclosed with names and surnames, and of another three that were publicly denounced.
remembered that the politically persecuted Javier Álvarez denounced that, between September 13 and 14, the regime ordered the arrest of his wife Jeannine Horvilleur Cuadra, 63 years old; his daughter Ana Carolina Álvarez Horvilleur, 43, both Nicaraguan-French nationals, and his son-in-law Félix Roiz Sotomayor, after they did not find him in his home.
The Blue and White National Monitoring also includes among those detained Freddy Porras, brother of Dulce Porras, leader of Unamos in Carazo, and current political exile. The citizen He was captured and beaten by the Police at his home in Jinotepe, Carazo, on September 15.
“What corresponds to the judicial process, people should have already been presented before a judge, so, even if the family knows where they are, because some have been told, here legally what there is is a temporary disappearance”, stressed Arce.
Regime encourages exile of Nicaraguans
The human rights defender assured that this new wave of arrests further encourages the forced exile of Nicaraguans, who find it increasingly difficult to remain in the country, where none of their rights are respected.
“Since 2018 the message that the regime sent is exile, jail or death. I think that message has materialized and remains, that is to saythey do not want any kind of opposition and they are going to root it out, currently encouraging exilealso banishing or preventing Nicaraguans themselves from entering the country,” he denounced.
He recalled that in this new repressive attack, the regime has also unleashed a hunt against the Catholic Church, not only arresting religious and forcing others into forced exile, but has also prohibited religious activities, such as processions in Masaya, for “the fear that people get together, crowd, talk, dialogue”.
“The regime is violating and messing with rights that are fundamental and messing with a target that is the Church, who are priests from different dioceses. It is a revenge action to show power, subordination, and take revenge on those who they consider their enemy,” he added.
He explained that all this fear of the regime is even manifested in a crisis of mistrust that it has towards its own followers and public workers, on whom it has imposed a special immigration regulation, forcing them to notify their reasons for leaving Nicaragua.
“Within the framework of this repressive policy, in which the regime seeks to control all the variables of power possible, State officials do not escape, who are a cornerstone for what they do and what they manage. The regime is afraid that they will leave, stay in another country and take that information that will eventually serve in the search for justice”, detailed the lawyer in exile.
The migration figures of Nicaraguans have increased since the social outbreak of 2018. From April of that year to July 2022, according to a report by CONFIDENTIAL, 163,333 Nicaraguans have requested refuge in Costa Rica. In addition, to this must be added another 50,000 requests from people who have scheduled a refugee application appointment, but are waiting for a date and time to formalize the request.
Other groups of Nicaraguans have also chosen to migrate to the United States, increasing year after year the numbers of apprehensions registered by Migration of that country. Between January and August of this year, according to reports from CONFIDENTIALa total of 108,010 Nicaraguan apprehensions have been registered, which represents an increase of 158% compared to the same period in 2021, when 41,889 Nicaraguan apprehensions were reported.
