The Southern Voices Network, within the framework of the Day of the Nicaraguan Journalist, denounced that the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo constantly violates the universal right to freedom of expression and of the press in Nicaragua.
The agency highlighted that in 2022 journalists faced the “intensification of violence and threats” exerted by the Ortega dictatorship.
He added that last year there were 703 attacks against Nicaraguan journalists, of which in 498 cases, the State -controlled by Daniel Ortega- was the main aggressor.
Related news: “Censorship and reprisals” do not shut down the independent press in Nicaragua, organizations point out
On the other hand, Voces del Sur congratulated the Nicaraguan journalists on their day, who for more than four years have been forced to work clandestinely or go into exile to protect their lives. The Ortega regime persecutes them for exposing human rights violations.
Attacks against journalists
So far in 2023, the Ortega dictatorship stripped 22 journalists of their Nicaraguan nationality, the vast majority of whom, from exile, continue to report on human rights violations committed by the ruling party.
Among the journalists who have become stateless are Carlos Fernando Chamorro, winner of the 38th Ortega y Gasset Journalism Awards and director of Confidencial and Esta Semana; Wilfredo Miranda, collaborator in Nicaragua for the Spanish newspaper El País and winner of the 2018 King of Spain Ibero-American Journalism Award.
Also the directors of digital media Lucía Pineda (100% News), Luis Galeano (Café con Voz), Jennifer Ortiz (Nicaragua Investiga), Patricia Orozco (Onda Local), Manuel Díaz (Bacanal Nica), Álvaro Navarro (Article 66), David Quintana (Ecological Bulletin), Aníbal Toruño (Radio Darío), Santiago Aburto (BTN News) and Jimmy Guevara (Criteria).
In addition, in 2022 the Ortega-Murillo regime closed more than 50 media outlets and two international media outlets were removed from the cable television grid, including CNN en Español. Likewise, eight news or opinion programs stopped broadcasting, most of them did not speak out to avoid reprisals from the regime.
Nicaragua has been going through a political and social crisis since April 2018, which worsened after the controversial general elections of November 7, 2021, in which Ortega was re-elected for a fifth term, fourth in a row and second along with Murillo as vice president. Under this mandate, journalism has been classified as a “high-risk profession” in the Central American country.
