Opponents and political analysts point out that the 2022 report on the situation of human rights in Nicaragua, issued by the United States Department, is an “alert” about what the Central American country is experiencing under the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
The document highlights Nicaragua as a nation with a “highly centralized and authoritarian political system,” that the dictatorial couple is the one that dominates all the powers of the State and keeps the country subject to their orders.
According to Marlon Caldera, a member of the Political Council of the Blue and White National Unity (Unab), the United States report on Nicaragua “is an alert about the political and social situation in the country” that, once again, puts evidences the dictatorial nature of the Ortega-Murillo administration.
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«(The regime) is sustained with repression by the Police since the April rebellion to date. The dictatorship does not respect civil and political liberties, it has committed and continues to violate human rights,” says Caldera.
He says that the document highlights the importance of guaranteeing human rights and fundamental freedoms for all people in Nicaragua. “The international community must continue to pressure the Ortega Murillo dictatorship to achieve the release of the 37 political prisoners who are still in jail,” he mentions.
“Measured” report
Opposition member Alexa Zamora, one of those declared stateless, considers that the report from the US State Department fell “a bit short” when compared to reports issued by international human rights organizations, the UN Group of Experts or some reports. carried out by rapporteurships on freedom of expression or religious freedom.
«In Nicaragua, human rights violations transcend the political area. With regard to branding it (the Ortega regime) as highly centralized and authoritarian, I also believe that the complexity and control of the dictatorial couple carries out in the institutions of the State, but also in the daily life of Nicaraguans transcends those terms”, manifested.
Zamora points out that it is a report “quite measured compared to others that have been issued along the same lines.”
centralized control
Political analyst Eliseo Núñez told Article 66 that in the report he refers to the issue of “centralized command” and this has to do with the assignment of responsibilities for what happens in Nicaragua.
“If there were a different command, it would be much more difficult to know where the repression orders emanate from, which have turned Nicaragua into a model of systematic violation of human rights. The issue that the command is centralized is very important due to the type of responsibilities that should be attributed to those who are in charge of it », he highlights.
«The rest is the issue of the consequences of the systematic violations of human rights that has been a State policy, it is not something circumstantial that occurred in the framework of some protests; it’s pretty much a sustained violation and part of the system,” he adds.
The report also states that the ruling party consolidated its power in the municipal elections last November, in which the majority of voters chose not to participate and the regime won the 153 municipalities in the country. In addition, they highlight the human rights violations committed by the Police, Army and paramilitaries ordered by the State.
