A personal bodyguard of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua was accused on Tuesday of having “flagrantly disobeyed superior orders” and will be tried for the crime of “breach of duty through disobedience and insubordination,” according to a statement from the authorities.
This is General Commissioner Marcos Alberto Acuña Avilés, who was part of Ortega’s police security team since the 1990s and became the head of the presidential escort on January 10, 2007, according to the investigative magazine Confidencial.
According to the official statement from the National Police, Acuña, by disobeying the authorities, “put public safety at risk,” for which he was also given a “dishonorable” discharge.
“The National Police is an armed force, governed by the strictest discipline of its members, subject to compliance with the law, based on the unique hierarchy and discipline of its commanders and personnel,” the police said.
Ortega’s government has tightened regulations for police officers
The Nicaraguan National Police is accused of being controlled by President Daniel Ortega. In fact, the president has appointed key members of the armed institution.
The National Police is currently headed by Francisco Díaz, father-in-law of the President of Nicaragua.
At the beginning of July 2023, the Parliament of Nicaragua approved a reform the Organic Law of the National Police, which establishes criminal sanctions for members of this institution who leave the force without permission, claiming “that they are causing serious harm to public safety.”
In Nicaragua, police officers who desert could face between two and three years in prison, according to the reform that was approved unanimously with 92 votes in favor and none against; while those who fail to fulfill their duties could be punished with between six months and two years in prison.
On the other hand, the National Assembly amended Article 97 of the Nicaraguan Political Constitution, which establishes that the National Police “is nonpartisan and apolitical.”
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