The Nicaraguan Institute of Agricultural Technology (INTA), controlled by the administration of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, inaugurated the “Coronel Santos López Genetic Resource Reserve and Biological Station” on a farm confiscated from the Padre Fabretto Foundation. The property is located in the municipality of San José de Cusmapa, Madriz.
The inauguration of the Reserve took place on July 22, 17 months after the Ortega government canceled the Foundation’s legal status and ordered the confiscation of its assets.
In the images shared by INTA on its page of Facebook It is evident that the inauguration event of the environmental center was marked by political proselytism. Flags of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) and a predominant decoration in red and black colors could be seen.
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The event was attended by the mayor of San José de Cusmapa, Guillermo Antonio Maradiaga Padilla Gioconda Aguirre, the INTA authorities and fervent supporters of the regime, who appear in photographs making the number two sign, referring to the Sandinista party booth.
The property, now administered by the Ortega Murillo government, has nurseries for the production of plants, a training center to strengthen producers in the management of pine forests, a module for the production of biological inputs and beekeeping; as well as trails and different spaces for agrotourism.
On February 2, 2022, the National Assembly, with a Sandinista majority, resolved to cancel the legal status of the Padre Fabretto Foundation and 10 other non-governmental organizations. This measure is part of the Ortega regime’s ongoing persecution of civil society, which has resulted in the closure of more than 3,500 organizations since 2018.
The organization served more than 2,500 children from the municipality of San José de Cusmapa, focused on different areas such as school reinforcement, dance, computer, and English classes, and delivered food rations.
Since its foundation, the Padre Fabretto Family, with a presence in the departments of Nueva Segovia, Madriz, Estelí, Chinandega, Managua, Masaya, Granada and the South Caribbean Coast, has been dedicated to supporting people with limited resources.
