At least three Latin American countries on Friday deplored the decision of Daniel Ortega’s government to strip Nicaraguans of their nationality. 135 political prisoners released who were sent to Guatemala with the mediation of the United States.
Costa Rica, Ecuador and the Dominican Republic are the countries that jointly issued a statement in which they stressed that Ortega’s action of stripping former political prisoners of their Nicaraguan nationality and ordering the confiscation of their assets “is arbitrary and illegal.”
“We emphasize that, in accordance with Article 15 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right to a nationality and no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of it,” the countries said.
The Sandinista government released 135 political prisoners on September 5 with the mediation of the United States and sent them to Guatemala, after negotiations with President Bernardo Arévalo.
Ortega stripped the former political prisoners of their nationality a week later and ordered the confiscation of their assets, alleging that they faced charges related to “terrorism” in Nicaragua.
Silence on list of released prisoners
Almost two weeks after the release of political prisoners, the Nicaraguan government has not provided an official list of former political prisoners.
Ortega has not commented on the release of prisoners either.
This is the second mass release that Ortega has carried out in Nicaragua through the efforts of the United States. In February 2023, Ortega released 222 prisoners and sent them to Washington to later strip them of their nationality.
Nicaragua has been experiencing a social and political crisis since 2018, when protests against the Sandinista leader began, which he described as an attempted coup d’état.
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