Two exiled opponents in Costa Rica reported being victims of attacks, threats and robberies by people who were identified as fanatics of the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
Mónica Rosales told the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ) that “she was intercepted on a street near the Moravian Church, in San José, by two subjects who were traveling on a motorcycle and when they boarded her they only demanded that she hand over her cell phone. Not finding it in the bag that the Nicaraguan woman was carrying, they beat her and dragged her.”
Related news: Nicaraguans in Costa Rica call on opponents to “unify their struggle fronts to end the dictatorship”
Over the weekend, a similar attack on Wally Salazar Rodríguez, 39, exiled in the neighboring country to the south and characterized by being very active on social media in his denunciation of the Nicaraguan dictatorship, was reported.
Salazar was also attacked by two motorcyclists who intercepted him to point a gun at him and snatch his cell phone, destroy it and warn him to stop publishing. The opponent was forced to leave his country due to constant threats and police siege that he suffered in the Carlos Marx neighborhood, for participating in the April 2018 protests.
Related news: Nicaraguans in exile; the constant voices of denunciation against the Ortega-Murillo
Between 2018 and 2019, a total of 54,762 Nicaraguans requested refuge in Costa Rica due to the human rights crisis. In 2020, the figure was reduced to 9,416 due to the closure of borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but after the new onslaught in 2021, more Nicaraguans decided to flee.
With a month left to close last year, the number of people who requested international assistance in that nation already exceeded the annual record with 47,534 requests. The neighboring country to the south is the largest migration destination for Nicaraguans, followed by the United States and Spain.
