The former politician and presidential hopeful Medardo Mairena described the confinement that he suffered for more than 19 months in the Directorate of Judicial Assistance (DAJ) in Managua as a “very difficult situation because obviously no one should be imprisoned for political issues or for thinking differently from the government —of Daniel Ortega—”.
After being sentenced to 13 years in prison for the alleged crime of undermining national integrity, the peasant leader was released and exiled from Nicaragua to the United States on February 9, along with 221 other former political hostages.
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After his exile, Mairena described the Nicaraguan regime as “misgovernment” because he affirms that “a true government would be watching over the citizens and move the country forward, but —Daniel— Ortega has dedicated himself to destroying the country’s economy and our families that are divided every time».
added in an interview with Article 66 that despite the difficult situation that the country is going through, he has “faith in God who has already reached out, reached out to us with his mercy and released us for the second time from jail and we have faith that soon, very soon, the other brothers who they continue behind the bars —of the jails of Nicaragua».
He reiterated that despite the difficult situation the country is going through, he has “faith in God who has already reached out, reached out to us with his mercy and released us for the second time from jail and we have faith that soon the others will be released.” brothers who continue behind the bars —of the Nicaraguan prisons—, including Monsignor Álvarez who is still imprisoned.”
“God will very soon grant the miracle to each one of them – the political prisoners – and the freedom of Nicaragua and we can achieve the democratization of our country,” he emphasized.
“It is inhumane to keep innocent people imprisoned”
For Mairena, it is inhumane and unfair that the Daniel Ortega regime keeps “innocent people in jails, because they not only harm the people they kidnap, but also affect an entire family nucleus.”
“As parents we have responsibility, but when these adverse situations happen, they greatly affect the children and more when they are minors,” he said.
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As for being a political hostage for the second time, the former presidential candidate said he did not regret being an opponent of the Ortega dictatorship. “I never regret what I do because I don’t do illegal things or things that could harm my family,” he said.
“The work that I have been doing for nine long years has been to defend human rights, so I have no regrets if I have not harmed anyone,” he remarked.
“I was in a punishment cell for the hatred against me”
Referring to captivity for more than a year and a half, Medardo Mairena reported that for more than 14 months he was in a punishment cell and in hostile situations.
He asserted that the conditions are difficult in the confinement that he lived and points out that “those punishment prisons should not exist because they isolate you and you do not know anything about your family and more to know than the hatred – of the Nicaraguan regime – that it has manifested towards me person is more and more notorious».
Due to the extreme confinement, Mairena said that she had to go on a hunger strike “and after spending three days without food they took me out of the punishment cell, putting me in a better condition, but that was already in the final stretch of my captivity.” .
Despite the banishment, the opponent pointed out that he will continue from his “trench” to continue fighting “so that soon God will grant us the miracle of the freedom of our country.”
“They took the streets from us but our spiritual struggle continues and I believe as a man of faith that God will continue to do miracles for our country,” he concluded.
