Former presidential hopefuls and released political prisoners Juan Sebastián Chamorro, Medardo Mairena and Félix Maradiaga met at the United States Capitol with Republican Senator Bill Cassidy. During the meeting they recounted the situation they experienced during the more than 20 months imprisoned in the jails of the Nicaraguan dictatorship.
“Nicaraguans are being imprisoned for daring to form civic organizations, run for political office or even speak out against the government of Daniel Ortega,” denounced the North American politician on his Twitter account, while welcoming those released to the seat of both houses of the United States Congress.
“Very grateful to the @SenBillCassidy of the state of Louisiana and to all the American people for the welcome they have given us. We are very grateful to the senator for his genuine interest in the democratization of our country and for listening to our testimonies,” Mairena shared on the social network.
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In a video shared on Twitter by Senator Cassidy, former presidential candidate Juan Sebastian thanked the North American politician for his support in recent years, since the April 2018 crisis, for the “freedom of all the Nicaraguan people.”
«The senator from Louisiana has been tireless in his statements for all political prisoners. We have told him what we have experienced. It seems unbelievable to me, it seems like a dream that I am here with him in freedom, describing what less than 10 days ago we were talking about with our cellmates about this building (El Capitolio),” Chamorro said.
He assured that they have found “freedom, even in exile,” but that they are going to fight for the “definitive freedom” of the Nicaraguan people. On his Twitter account, Chamorro stated that he will continue to “raise his voice for the release of at least 39 political prisoners, including Monsignor Rolando Álvarez.”
The three former presidential candidates are part of the 222 political prisoners exiled on February 9 by the Nicaraguan regime to the United States. Maradiaga, Chamorro and Mairena were arrested in the pre-electoral context of the general voting in November 2021. They spent more than a year and a half imprisoned under cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
Upon their forced departure from the country, their Nicaraguan nationality was also taken from them. According to the dictatorship, through a reform to the Political Constitution, the 222 exiles are considered “traitors to the homeland” and therefore automatically lose their citizenship of the Central American country.
