The opponents and now released political prisoners Juan Sebastián Chamorro, Suyen Barahona and Félix Maradiaga declared that they were happy and very excited to be free from the “claws” of the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, which for more than 19 months subjected them to acts of torture and total isolation.
At a press conference, the former presidential candidate Juan Sebastian Chamorro He thanked the entire Nicaraguan and international community for always fighting for his release and that of the other opponents. “We are very grateful that 222 people have been able to get out of the dictatorship, which unfortunately oppresses our country and that it has been 20 months, in my case, one year and eight months of being behind bars,” he said.
Chamorro also pointed out that the regime kept them “in very deplorable conditions, totally incommunicado and with very little information from abroad, however, here we are with our heads held high.”
Related news: This is the list of political prisoners exiled by the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega
Likewise, the opposition leader stated that “it was a very exciting moment” to see the majority of political prisoners gathered on the plane, which took them to Washington. “People come from all corners of the country. We sang the national anthem several times. It was a very nice moment getting on the plane,” he added.
In addition, he assured that the essential thing at this time is to “remake life, resume that path of life, after this unfair confinement that all of us were subjected to.”
Juan Sebastián Chamorro reported that his wife Victoria Cárdenas together with their daughter are on their way to the US capital to meet again as a family, after 20 months of “forced separation.”
The political scientist Felix Maradiaga He was also grateful for all the efforts made by political organizations, human rights organizations, and the international community for his prompt release.
“I want to tell you that we never feel alone, I thank you very much for your support,” said Maradiaga, upon arriving at the hotel where political prisoners exiled in the United States are being transferred.
He stressed that “sometimes when the darkness of a cell is unbearable for the human soul, one feels that there is a ray of light that enters through the most unimaginable crack and that ray of light is the immense love over all of Nicaragua.”
«Prayer at all times is everything, in the midst of darkness, it is leaving that place without a single resentment in our hearts. I am deeply moved by the struggle of so many people, especially for the wives, for our daughters, husbands, friends, priests, pastors, and also the Nicaraguan diaspora from different parts,” he added.
For his part, Suyen Barahonapresident of the Unión Democrática Renovadora, insisted that “here we are, here we continue, strong, in resistance with all this diversity of committed people, who came together on that plane, Nicaraguans who love Nicaragua, who want Nicaragua free, who remain committed day by day with accomplishing that task.”
“This is a great triumph and a great joy, being here and having achieved that prisoners who had been detained for more than four years are now free,” he stressed.
The country is carried in the blood
On the morning of this Thursday, February 9, the Judiciary confirmed the “exile” of the prisoners of conscience as an “immediate deportation for the fulfillment of their sentences.” On the same day, the National Assembly voted to also strip the exiles of their Nicaraguan nationality.
Faced with this situation, Juan Sebastián Chamorro explained that all the political prisoners exiled by Ortega learned the news during the trip. “Obviously, a procedure of this nature does not take away our Nicaraguanness, but rather we feel much more proud and more committed to Nicaragua in the fight for democracy,” Chamorro said.
Félix Maradiaga also spoke out on the matter and maintained that “the homeland is carried in our blood and we will always be Nicaraguans.”
