The anguish suffered by Dulce María Porras, Andrea Margarita del Carmen and Silvia Nadine Gutiérrez upon learning of the capture of their brother, son and mother, respectively, turned into a sea of emotions when they heard that there was a plane bound for the United States, with several hundred political prisoners. Was that true? And if true, was his family member there?
On the night of February 8, the news began to emerge that they were moving political prisoners, especially when they came to take those who had a house out of jail. On the morning of the ninth, the social networks began to transmit thousands of messages in which relatives, journalists, opponents, and Nicaraguans in general, inquired if it was true that they had been made to board a plane to get them out of the country.
“I knew from the night before that there were movements in the prisons. Some said they were free. Others, that they were only going to move them. That night I fell asleep at two in the morning, but I didn’t get much sleep, because at six in the morning, a friend called me to tell me that they were being put on a plane,” says Andrea Margarita.
Another family member who was receiving early news was Dulce María, who narrated to CONFIDENTIAL that he found out at dawn that they were being transferred to another country, but did not know where, “until a brief message came out from the United States Department of State, and that made us happy, moralized us, but then came the anguish, because We didn’t know who was on that blessed list.”
The next thing was to ask all his contacts to help him “look for the famous list, to see who sent it to me first, and it came to me like a hundred times. It was a tremendous emotion to see my brother come out, who is someone I adore. My friends came out. My friends, the children of my friends, were coming out… they were going free! It was a terrible emotion. We practically did not eat that day, ”she recalls.
Andrea Margarita didn’t eat either. After a frantic day of exchanging messages in which the release of “the orange family” was celebrated, in reference to the members of the Unamos political party. “A lot of people I love very much were on that plane. The emotion was so great that I did not remember to eat, ”she later recalled.
It was the same carousel of emotions that Silvia Nadine experienced, who remembers the uncertainty she experienced, because “we knew something was happening, but we didn’t know what, and that generates stress, tension. That night I did not sleep well, because it was said that they had been taken from their cells, without knowing where they were being transferred to”.
When he woke up the next morning, he found out that there was a flight to the United States with 222 political prisoners, “and I felt life come back to me again. It was a huge joy. I cried”. When they confirmed that the flight exists, she said to herself: “There goes my mom. I am sure yes. It is not possible that she is not there ”, although she could not know if it was so or not.
Like the rest of the relatives of political prisoners, she also plunged into a frantic exchange of messages and calls. In her case, with her sisters, especially the one she lives with in the United States, so that she would receive her.
“It was an incredible joy!”, he reiterates.
innocent and prisoners
If the suffering of Andrea Margarita and Dulce María began in mid-September 2022, that of Silvia Nadine is older, since her mother, Evelin Pinto, had been kidnapped on the night of November 6, 2021. Receiving the news from his father “was very hard. I felt like the world was coming down on me, because we never thought about it. It was very hard to think that perhaps they were taking her to El Chipote, knowing that it is a torture prison; not knowing if she had been hit; what had they told her, how they were treating her, where she was ”.
Add to that the “traumatic event” of being the victim of an operation that included about twenty agents. Later, they were able to confirm that they had taken her to Police District 3, despite the fact that the entity itself did not tell them anything. In the end, she was in that place for 45 days, unable to communicate with her lawyer, and unable to hear from anyone in her family.
Andrea Margarita remembers that one night in September 2022, her son Gabriel called her, and told her that there were men entering the house, and she ended the call. Shortly after she began to receive messages from her saying, “hello, Margarita mom.” She later learned from other relatives that her son I was in El Chipote.
“Having a child detained is one of the most painful things a mother can suffer, especially when you know that he was not involved in anything and was only dedicated to working,” he says.
This description is very similar to the one Dulce María makes of her brother Freddy Martín, also kidnapped by the regime. “In principle, I did not believe that they would take him to prison, because he does not have a political role. It does hurt him to see what happened to me and one of our brothers, so he could not be happy with that government, however, he only dedicated himself to his family and his work.
To his surprise, he received a call in mid-September, in which they described an operation “like they were going to capture Chapo Guzmán: they jumped over the wall; they did atrocities; It was a very violent capture for him, for his girls, for his wife. Logically, in the family we escaped from dying, because we never expected that they would capture him, and they would keep him imprisoned until now when they were all banished”.
“I will not cry. I will not cry. I cried”
After her brother and the other 221 exiles landed in Washington, Dulce María managed to speak with her brother hours later. As she waited for communication to be established, she promised herself that she would be strong. She said that she was not going to cry when she saw her brother, but when she started the video call, “since he saw me he started crying. For me it was super exciting, it was amazing to see my brother safe again, ”she shares.
The next thing was that they hardly spoke, because he covered his mouth and began to cry. They both kissed each other. To her surprise, there were acquaintances of hers at the hotel, and they consoled him. She was able to chat with him until after 48 hours, who narrated some of the things suffered in prison, and her desire to meet with her wife and daughters, who are still in Nicaragua.
For Silvia Nadine’s family, it was a great blessing that her sister, who is in the United States, lives very close to Dulles airport, where the plane landed with the banished. When she was finally able to talk to her mom, she told her that they never gave up hope, that they were completely sure that she was going to get her freedom back, and that they would see each other again.
“Now we just need to hug each other in person. We were happy, crying, but very peaceful. I saw her very peaceful and with incredible energy. That she is not alone, because she is with my sister in the United States, is a great relief” for all of us, she said.
For her part, Andrea Margarita felt that a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders knowing that her son was no longer in prison. “It was wrong for them to take away their nationality, but they are free, and as long as there is freedom, there will be opportunity. I was able to talk to him even at night. That day I was so happy that I didn’t cry. I know at some point I’m going to cry, but so far, I’ve only felt joy.”
“Stateless”, us?
Both Silvia Nadine Gutiérrez and Dulce María Porras were included in the infamous list of 94 Nicaraguans whom the regime intends to strip of their nationality.
Silvia Nadine remembers that her mother was the one who told her the news of the stripping of her nationality, and how she was impacted by the fact that, in addition to take away his nationalitythey have judged her, declared a ‘fugitive from justice’, and ordered that her assets be taken away, which she considers “total madness”.
“I am Nicaraguan, and I will always be. Since everything they do is illegitimate, I am not going to accept that they take away my nationality. They are a couple of dictators who play with the laws however they want, but I was born in Nicaragua. My parents are Nicaraguan, therefore me too,” he added.
With regard to assets, she confesses that it hurts that they could take away what she had worked for, and although she is sure that “everything is going to recover,” she admits that “it always hurts a little. I know that the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo are going to pay. What they are doing will not go unpunished. They are going to pay for all the damage they are doing to all Nicaraguans. Justice will come. Of that I am sure”.
Dulce María highlights that there are nine Jinotepinos on the list, which, in her opinion, confirms that there is a special viciousness against the caraceños. “That they want to steal my house and take away my nationality, it doesn’t scare me, coming from that pair of maniacs”, he assures, although he later reflects that “they have not approved my refuge in Costa Rica, and now this”.
With everything, they promise to “be strong, and not lower their heads, because what they want is to see us defeated. I will continue to fight. I will continue in the fight. Nothing is going to stop me.”
