The Ortega regime persists in its wave of repression against Nicaraguan opponents and musicians in the context of the fourth anniversary of the 2018 Civic Rebellion. On Monday morning, immigration authorities prevented Carlos Luis Mejía Rodríguez, a member and founder of the group, from entering the country. musical La Cuneta Son Machín. Meanwhile, the musician Josué Monroy, a member of the Monroy y Surmenage band, and the managers of Saxo Producciones, Xóchilt Tapia and Salvador Espinoza, have been imprisoned for eight days without the Police or Prosecutor’s Office reporting their location or legal situation.
The digital media Divergentes published that Mejía was returning from a family trip to the United States, but during his stopover in El Salvador, he was informed that he could not enter Nicaragua. However, his mother and daughter did manage to continue the trip, while he was returned to Washington.
Last week, the Ortega regime deported music producer Leonardo Canales, director of La Anteala, who was captured on April 12 along with other musicians. While the Italian artist Emilia Arienti was given 48 hours to leave Nicaragua, sources confirmed to CONFIDENTIAL.
The hunt against musicians and opponents began last Tuesday, April 12, with arrests and raids. This has intensified through immigration restrictions, such as the one imposed on the musician Mejía Rodríguez —son of Carlos Mejía Godoy, who is in exile and is a staunch critic of the Ortega regime—, and police surveillance for 48 hours in dozens of homes of relatives of April victims, released prisoners and social leaders.
The attack against the musicians occurred after a concert for the 15th anniversary of the Monroy y Surmenage band was held on April 2, an event in which a criticism was allegedly raised against the Ortega-Murillo regime, through one of the songs performed.
The song that apparently upset the Ortega regime is titled “In the eye of the hurricane”which includes among its stanzas phrases such as: “a loud cry in April”, “everyone shouts present” and “in the rain they come closer, they die wide open”.
Most sacks against opponents
Between April 17 and 18, six people captured in different departments of the country are counted, whose relatives have preferred to keep their names confidential for security, explained Ivania Álvarez, support of territorial networks for the Blue and White Monitoring.
This initiative also counts 77 human rights violations between April 17 and 18, according to reports in 12 departments of the country and the South Caribbean.
The Mothers of April Association (AMA), which brings together the relatives of the victims of April, denounced this Monday the 18th that eight of its members have been besieged by the Police of the Ortega regime. On April 12, the Police also raided and threatened two members of AMA in Masaya.
The agents indicated that they could not go out to processions, nor participate in masses and that they were being watched.
“The sieges have an objective, according to what the families have told us, they tell them the same thing: they don’t want the families to go out to see their murdered relatives, they don’t want us to go out on the streets and they don’t want any kind of commemoration in our fourth anniversary. That is the objective of the Police”, expressed an AMA source on condition of anonymity.
The families have been threatened with being imprisoned, which sends a message to the rest of the members of AMA, “that we stay put, without doing anything for our commemoration of the murders on the fourth anniversary of our relatives,” said the source. In a statement published on April 19, AMA assured that it remains firm to demand justice for the mortal victims of the massacre perpetrated by the Ortega regime.
“The fight to break with impunity for the crimes against humanity committed by the Ortega-Murillo regime cannot be postponed, negotiated or abandoned. All of Nicaragua must commit to never more massacres, executions or torture,” reads the text.
Carlos Pavón, father of Richard Pavón, murdered four years ago, on April 19, 2018, has been under surveillance since Monday. He had planned to visit the grave of his son, in Tipitapa, but due to the siege, it was not possible. Other families have also been harassed for more than 24 hours; patrol cars park in front of houses and turn on the siren. So far, AMA has had reports of harassment in Ticuantepe, Estelí, Ciudad Sandino, Chinandega, and Managua.
Intimidation and zero protests
Oppositionist Antonia Jirón, from Diriá, has been under police harassment since Monday morning. The police officers who monitor her home and photograph her request identity documents from anyone who visits her. “I have left and they have not told me anything. They only take a picture of me every time I go out and every time I come in. The siege is permanent, right now it increased a little more around April 19, but it has always been permanent, almost a year,” she said.
The siege became widespread this April 18 throughout the country. Opposition organizations try to systematize all the cases, but some escape because the population is afraid to report them. The main fear is that the Police enter the houses, as happened last week in Masaya.
Contrary to other years, in which the population protested with balloons, paper and blue and white paint, in commemoration of April, this year the siege and almost no signs of civic resistance have prevailed. “Fear has entered, the fear that I am going to be arrested,” says Jirón.
The human rights defender, Vilma Núñez, explains that the regime wanted to prevent any commemoration and also intimidate to demonstrate its decision to stay in power at any cost.
“That is a reaffirmation of the repression, and furthermore, it is also a sign of insecurity in having to repress a popular will by force. He wants to deafen himself, to think that he does not have the total and absolute rejection of the people and that is what he wants: to be silent, ”says Núñez.
