The United States will facilitate family reunification and travel to third countries “if necessary” for Nicaraguan political prisoners who They arrived in Washington on Thursday after being released by government of Daniel Ortegasaid a senior US official on Friday.
The Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the US Department of State, Emily Mendrala, specified in a telephone press conference that “each case will be different” and that everything will depend on each person’s plans.
“The future depends on each one, on their situation, on their preference. Some have relatives in the US and are in the process of connecting with their loved ones here in the US. Others have ties and communities in third countries in the region and to Europe. We are going to do everything possible to connect them with their communities and facilitate the trip if necessary,” Mendrala responded to a question from the Voice of America.
On Thursday, the government of President Daniel Ortega “unilaterally” released 222 political prisoners that it was holding in its jails and sent them to the United States, which received through its humanitarian parole programafter making sure that each of the prisoners agreed to travel voluntarily.
Two of those who were going to be released refused to travel and for the moment remain in Nicaraguan prisons. Ortega also announced that the 222 former prisoners would have their Nicaraguan nationality withdrawn.
When the news broke, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, offered to give Spanish nationality to the 222 exiled Nicaraguans.
“We have been in communication with Spain. There is the possibility that some will continue on their way or want to explore offers from other countries. We have legal services at the reception centers and counselors who can help each explore the options available to them. “, indicated Mendrala to the VOA.
Among the 222 former political prisoners are opponents, presidential candidates, social activists, lawyers, journalists, priests and diplomats. The transfer operation to Washington is considered one of the largest operations of its kind in which the White House has participated.
“We see yesterday’s events as a positive step that could put the bilateral relationship on a more constructive path,” warned the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Department of State’s Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs.
However, Mendrala insisted that the United States “views with concern the reports that (the Ortega government) had canceled the citizenship of these people. We want to receive more information about those steps,” he said.
there was no negotiation
The senior official emphasized that “there were no negotiations” with Nicaragua for the release of the prisoners and specified that the government of Daniel Ortega “did not ask for anything in exchange for receiving the prisoners.”
“We were not aware of these intentions before yesterday,” said Mendrala, who clarified that the Office of Customs and Border Protection (CBP in English) moved quickly to complete all the rigorous procedures to grant the parole humanitarian services, including fingerprinting and background checks.
“Once we received news of the unilateral decision to release the prisoners with the intention of sending them to the US and we made sure that we had the consent of each one, that they really wanted to reach the US,” he explained.
In the case of the two political prisoners who refused to be exiled, among them Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who directed the Diocese of Matagalpa, Mendrala affirmed that the United States is going to “continue calling for his release.”
The Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Western Hemisphere Affairs of the US Department of State said that they do not foresee a change in the sanctions policy that Washington maintains on Nicaragua, however, he stressed that they are willing to dialogue.
“We will always continue to call for further steps from the Nicaraguan government to restore civil liberties and democracy to all the people of Nicaragua,” he said.
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