The Nicaraguan authorities restricted the entry into the country of photographic and video cameras to tourists, who must obtain a permit from the National Cinemathequean entity controlled by the government of President Daniel Ortega.
The measure was announced in a statement released by the General Directorate of Customs Services (DGA) dated January 16, 2023, in what is supposed to be a new measure by the ruling party to prohibit documenting the crisis that is being experienced in the Central American nation.
The document also says that “night vision binoculars are prohibited from entering national territory, as they are for the exclusive use of the Nicaraguan Army and the National Police,” both entities criticized by the opposition for repressing dissent.
José Cardoza, leader of an association of Nicaraguan journalists, told the voice of america that the measure comes hand in hand with a reform to the Law Creating the Cinematheque (Law 909), revised by pro-government deputies in October 2022, and that it seeks to control any type of audiovisual production.
“I believe that the regime is trying to project an image of economic prosperity, as the president of the Central Bank, Ovidio Reyes, has recently made clear, and by not controlling what is produced in audiovisual matters in Nicaragua, it could deny the official narrative” , said Cardoza, who is part of the Organization of Independent Journalists and Communicators of Nicaragua (PCIN).
At the moment it is unknown if there is any cost associated with obtaining the permission of the cinematheque, but Cardoza assures that beyond a collection effort, the government is “interested in knowing what is being produced in the country and avoiding the emergence of audiovisual productions that refute the official line, like the documentary ‘It hurts to breathe‘”, which was carried out by a Mexican journalist who entered Managua as a tourist.
The reform approved three months ago by the National Assembly grants more power to the National Cinematheque to authorize or not audiovisual productions in the country.
With the reforms and additions, the Cinematheque was left with powers to “prohibit the development, exhibition and commercialization of audiovisual products, as well as the confiscation of these”, indicates the regulations.
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