Nicaragua withdraws from UN Human Rights Council
Reuters Nicaragua announced on Thursday it would withdraw from the United Nations Human Rights Council, following a UN report that urged the international community to address human rights violations by President Daniel Ortega’s government. Vice President and first lady, Rosario Murillo, called the decision “sovereign and irrevocable,” stating Nicaragua would cease participation in all activities […]
UN report calls for international action as Nicaragua’s government deepens repression
Geneva, Switzerland Reuters The United Nations has urged the international community to respond to what it called human rights violations by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s government as it seeks to further consolidate power, according to a report published on Wednesday. Ortega, a former leftist rebel who initially came to power in 1979 and returned in […]
Nicaragua’s Ortega expands power as reforms win final approval
Reuters Constitutional reforms proposed by Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega to further consolidate power by extending his control over other parts of government won final approval on Thursday after a unanimous vote. The reforms have been defended by government allies as deepening a nearly 50-year-old revolution, but blasted by critics as a power grab from an […]
Nicaragua tortured at least 229 political prisoners, rights group says
Reuters At least 229 people detained in Nicaragua for political reasons have suffered various forms of torture and other “crimes against humanity” at the hands of the government over the past seven years, a human rights NGO said on Tuesday. The Nicaragua Never Again Human Rights Collective said in a report that it had documented […]
Nicaraguan lawmakers approve reform expanding Ortega’s power
Reuters The Nicaraguan parliament, dominated by the ruling Sandinista Front, on Friday approved a constitutional reform that hands more power to President Daniel Ortega, his wife the Vice President, as well as the Central American nation’s police and military. The reform increases the president’s control over the media, extends the presidential term to six years […]
Nicaragua’s Ortega seeks to expand presidential powers
Reuters Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega proposed a constitutional reform to expand presidential powers over other branches of government, according to an official document seen by Reuters on Wednesday. The reform also seeks to increase the presidential term to six years from five and formally change the role of vice president, held by the 79-year-old Ortega’s […]
Nicaragua expels lead bishop in crackdown on Catholic Church
Reuters Nicaragua has expelled Bishop Carlos Herrera, the head of the country’s episcopal conference, a lawyer tied to the Catholic Church told Reuters on Thursday, amid an extended state crackdown targeting the church. Local media earlier reported that Herrera, 75, had been expelled to Guatemala where he was received by members of his Franciscan order. […]
Christians in Nicaragua: Their churches no longer feel safe. Now Nicaraguans are taking their worship home
MARÍA TERESA HERNÁNDEZ, of Associated Press, reports on the pressure being put on churches in Nicaragua…
Essay: Continuing crackdown on churches and NGOs moves Nicaragua further from democracy to authoritarianism
RICHARD WOOD, in an article first published on The Conversation, looks at the background to and impact of Daniel Ortega’s long-running crackdown on civil society, including religious groups…
After US talks, Nicaragua expels dozens of political prisoners to Guatemala
Washington DC, US/Guatemala City, Guatemala Reuters The United States secured the release of dozens of political prisoners in Nicaragua on Thursday following talks with the government of President Daniel Ortega, who has in recent years often expelled individuals who he sees as hostile to his rule. The White House announced that 135 prisoners were freed […]