Following the release of 222 former Nicaraguan political prisoners by the Nicaraguan government and their transfer to Washington, the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, said that the event could “open the door to greater dialogue between the United States and Nicaragua.” .
However, several analysts consider that despite the intentions of the White House, the position of President Daniel Ortega continues to be the same, which would hinder the process of understanding between the two countries and the possibility of opening a democratic process in the Central American country.
The Nicaraguan Court of Appeals declared those released as “traitors to the homeland”, who were permanently disqualified from holding public office and their Nicaraguan nationality was withdrawn.
Michael Shifter, former president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington-based think tank, was “skeptical” of the release of opponents, saying that “the nature of the regime remains the same.”
“I think we’re going to see a lot of repression and I don’t think there’s going to be much openness,” Shifter said during an interview on the show. FORUM of the Voice of America.
Shifter said that Ortega made a “gesture of calculation” when considering that “it is better to have them [a los opositores] outside than inside, something that happens in many dictatorships”.
For her part, Lucía Pineda, director of the portal 100% Newsa Nicaraguan outlet that was closed down by Daniel Ortega and whose former director, Miguel Mora, was jailed on charges of conspiracy, believes that the sanctions imposed by the White House on the Nicaraguan government could have influenced Ortega’s decision, who has a ” great pressure.”
The United States has imposed sanctions on Daniel Ortega’s family, including his wife and children, Pineda recalled.
Despite this, Ortega pointed out that this operation did not respond to a position to request the cessation of sanctions.
“This is not a barter, we have not asked the US for anything, it is something of dignity, let that be clear,” said the president.
In a public appearance, Ortega indicated that the release of the opponents “is a message,” according to him, “of dignity to preserve peace.”
In October, the Joe Biden government announced a tightening of sanctions prohibiting the entry of more than 500 Nicaraguans into the North American country for allowing “the repression” of the Nicaraguan people and “undermining the institutions” of that nation.
Pineda believes that Ortega’s statement that the release of the former political prisoners should not be understood as a claim to Washington to lift the sanctions, “is a big lie because insistently in the speeches of Daniel Ortega, Rosario Murillo and their officials they do They asked for the lifting of sanctions,” he explained, recalling that the president always said that these prisoners “were going to rot in jail.”
The mediation of the White House in the release of the 222 former political prisoners also makes it clear, according to experts consulted by the VOAthat the White House would have some interest in unfreezing relations with Managua.
Adam Isacson, director of the Defense Oversight Program of the Washington Office for Latin American Affairs WOLA, assured that “the Biden government is seeking to continue the pressure on the Nicaraguan government” and thus maintain its control.
However, he regretted that the United States has not opted for a much tougher policy to end the cases of repression and imprisonment of activists and opponents, not only in Nicaragua, but also in other countries in the region during the last five decades. .
“Since the 1970s, my organization was receiving exiles and dissidents from Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and many other countries. It hurts to know that 50 years later we continue to receive exiles from dictatorships in Latin America”, stressed Isacson.
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