The main leaders of the Nicaraguan University Alliance (AUN), Lesther Alemán and Max Jerez, former political prisoners and exiled to the United States by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship, avoided referring to the opposition unity initiative promoted by the group called Green Mountbecause, according to what they told Article 66they have “very little information”.
Green Mount is an initiative that began to promote rapprochement between opposition groups since 2021, organized by Nicaraguan exiles who, from Costa Rica, propose the unity of all opposition forces to confront the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
This week they met in Houston, Texas, and released a statement for the first time, affirming that they do not arrogate the monopoly of the opposition and that they will add more groups in search of the convergence of all the opposition without distinctions of any kind.
Related news: Opponents continue in search of strategies for the liberation of Nicaragua
Lesther Alemán was asked about his opinion on the Monteverde initiative and whether the organization he leads (AUN) is open to joining this process that seeks unity to confront the dictatorship. The youth leader only replied that “we have no opinion on the matter.”
For his part, Max Jerez, consulted in the same way, said that “at this moment we have no opinion or position regarding this initiative. We have very little information.”
A source familiar with the work of Green Mount claimed to Article 66 that all the opposition representations are informed of the work they develop within that initiative. “After they were released from prison, they (Alemán and Jerez) were in several virtual meetings where they were informed of the work that the initiative had been developing,” said the source, who also stated that the youth leaders were invited to the most recent meeting in the United States. .UU. but did not attend.
Related news: Félix Maradiaga, before the Liberal International, insists on the need for an opposition unit
“They excused themselves saying that at this moment they are not ready to participate, that they wanted to focus on strengthening their organization and that later we could value it again (participate in the initiative),” reported one of the representatives of the groups that converged in these talks.
He insisted that they do not see the decision of the AUN leaders as a fight with the initiative, but that they agree because they have to consolidate their organization.
In 2021, when the opposition was striving to achieve unity, the leaders of AUN decided to join the so-called Citizen Alliance, together with the Citizens for Freedom (CxL) party, avoiding approaching the other opponents who gathered in the National Coalition. Finally, neither of the two platforms prospered because the dictatorship was in charge of taking the leaders to jail, including Alemán and Jerez.
