The deputy assistant secretary of the Western Hemisphere of the United States, Emily Mendrala, described this Wednesday, February 23, as “brutal” the treatment of political prisoners by the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, while warning that they will be held responsible for the well-being of prisoners in prison. conscience.
Mendrala demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the political prisoners and denounced that the trials are carried out without the guarantees of due process, in a non-transparent manner, and that they have received reliable information that prisoners of conscience are subjected to excessive confinement, frequent interrogations , refusal of medical care, insufficient nutrition and sleep deprivation.
“These abuses are flagrant and inadmissible in all cases, but even more so in those involving older and sick prisoners,” lamented the senior State Department official, who recalled that the retired general Hugo Torres He died this month in the custody of the authorities during his unjust and abusive imprisonment.
Mendrala recognized as a positive step the change of precautionary measure to house arrest for political prisoners Arturo Cruz, Francisco Aguirre Sacasa and José Pallais—a decision taken by the judicial authorities after Torres’s death—, but said that prolonged confinement could mean a high risk to your health.
In Nicaragua, there are 177 prisoners of conscience. For the US Administration of Joe Biden, the trials against opponents, the reprisals against universities, journalists and civil society pursue the objective of instilling fear and consolidating the authoritarian control of the Ortega Murillo family over all aspects of life in Nicaragua.
In past days, CONFIDENTIAL published an investigation related to the judicial machinery of the government party that is ensuring convictions against opponents, which is made up of at least 15 officials including judges, prosecutors and also police officers. Jurists consulted by this means, indicated that they would be committing crimes of malfeasance and crimes against humanity of torture.
“We are aware that there are other actors who participate in these abuses, who carry out the actions and perpetuate the human rights abuses,” said the diplomat, adding that as a government they have acted by revoking visas against various actors of the regime.
The senior official added that the United States joins the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Union (EU) to press for the return of democracy and full respect for human rights in Nicaragua.
Ortega’s alignment with Russia
Hours after the Pentagon warned that Russian troops were ready to attack Ukraine, Mendrala lamented Ortega’s expressed support for Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin.
“It is very worrying that the Ortega regime has decided to align itself with the authoritarian government of Russia, and followed its script of repression. The United States will continue to support the people of Nicaragua, we strongly condemn President Putin’s decision to recognize the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk republics as independent”, he said, considering these actions as an attack on Ukraine’s sovereignty.
On February 21 last, Ortega justified to Russia saying that those provinces are populated by citizens of that country and that he was sure that if they put it to a referendum the people would vote for annexation. “That’s what Crimea did: it returned to the situation it was in before the fall of the Soviet Union,” he said.
Mendrala did not confirm whether they have already sent the report to Congress on Russia’s relations with Nicaragua, which is required by the Renacer Law, which provides new tools to confront the anti-democratic actions of the Ortega Murillo regime. According to the legislation, this document had to be sent 90 days after the approval, which came into force in November 2021.
Cautious with measures against Ortega
The official did not anticipate any action taken by the Biden Administration against Nicaragua in relation to the DR-CAFTA trade agreement, but recalled that they are the country’s main trading partner.
“We know that the United States is Nicaragua’s main trading partner. There is the possibility of denying the participation of the Government of Nicaragua in capacity building workshops, technical assistance”, she said tersely.
The United States Embassy in Managua maintained, for its part, that exports have tripled in the case of Nicaragua since 2006.
The United States is Nicaragua’s main trading partner. Exports have tripled since 2006, contributing to US$65 billion in total trade. pic.twitter.com/jYXgsgYabo
— USEmbassy Nicaragua (@USEmbNicaragua) February 24, 2022
Mendrala assured that they are monitoring actions related to the issue of corruption, but it is “significant that Nicaragua has been added to section 3-53 of the list of corrupt and anti-democratic actors of the Renacer Law, with this tool we can identify actors who participate in corrupt acts,” he argued.
The last weekend, CONFIDENTIAL revealed in an investigation the existence of a network of 22 companies linked to the Ortega Murillo family clan with interests in the oil, advertising, construction and media sectors, which have had exponential growth at the expense of the State or Venezuelan cooperation.
