Central America
Nicaragua detains another opposition presidential hopeful
AFP/Editor
Police in Nicaragua on Saturday took opposition politician Arturo Cruz into custody, detaining a second presidential hopeful in less than a week.
Cruz was seized at the Managua airport upon return from the United States, on accusations of acting “against Nicaraguan society and the rights of the people,” prosecutors said.
His detention came three days after opposition figure Cristiana Chamorro — a possible challenger to leftist President Daniel Ortega in November elections — was placed under house arrest, after government claims that she was guilty of money laundering.
Cruz, 67, announced his candidacy two months ago, running with the conservative Citizen Alliance for Freedom.
The National Police said it would “refer the person under investigation to the competent authorities for prosecution and to determine criminal responsibilities.”
The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights called Cruz’s detention a “perverse strategy” on the part of Ortega’s government to silence people he considers political enemies.
“These are not criminal investigations, this is political persecution,” it said.
The United States called for Cruz’s “immediate release.”
“The international community has spoken: under Ortega, Nicaragua is becoming an international pariah and moving farther away from democracy,” acting undersecretary of the US State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs Julie Chung said on Twitter.
– ‘Dance of suppression’ –
Cruz served as Nicaragua’s ambassador to the United States between 2007 and 2009, under Ortega’s government.
His detention followed that of Chamorro, a 67-year-old journalist not aligned to any party.
The daughter of former president Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, a recent poll showed her to be the favorite to beat Ortega in November, though he has not confirmed he will seek a fourth term.
But Chamorro has for weeks been the subject of a judicial investigation into money-laundering, which she has denounced as a “macabre farce” set up to prevent her from standing as a candidate.
A day before his arrest, Cruz had warned via Twitter that he was considering withdrawing from the race.
If Nicaraguan authorities “continue the dance of suppression and we are left without other candidates, the logical thing is that this servant does not participate in this process,” he said on Twitter.
“We must seriously consider participating in this spurious exercise.”
Last month, Nicaragua’s legislature appointed a majority of governing party-aligned magistrates to the election body that will oversee the elections.
It has since disqualified two parties.
In December the legislature approved a law critics say is aimed at preventing opposition politicians from standing in the election. Sponsored by Ortega, it bars “those who ask for, celebrate and applaud the imposition of sanctions against the Nicaraguan state.”
Ortega, an ex-guerrilla who governed from 1979 to 1990, returned to power in 2007 and won two successive reelections.
Central America
Costa Rica faces historic vote on lifting presidential immunity for Rodrigo Chaves
Costa Rica, a country internationally recognized for its democratic and political stability, is heading toward an unprecedented decision: whether to lift President Rodrigo Chaves’s immunity so he can face a criminal trial over alleged irregular management of funds from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI).
On Wednesday, the Legislative Assembly formed a commission of three lawmakers to analyze the accusation against the president, which was forwarded earlier this month by the Supreme Court of Justice. The commission has 20 days, extendable for another 20, to issue a report so that the full Assembly can vote on whether to lift the president’s immunity.
Lifting the immunity would require 38 votes — two-thirds of the legislature — which is largely composed of opposition parties.
If immunity is removed, prosecutors would be able to continue their investigation and potentially question the president. If the motion fails, the case would return to the judiciary and remain pending until Chaves’s term ends in May 2026.
Since the country’s last civil war in 1948 and the abolition of the army later that year, Costa Rica has held uninterrupted elections, every president has completed their term without major issues, and none has ever had their immunity lifted — although several have faced judicial proceedings.
Central America
Honduras sees ongoing killings of land defenders and attacks on press, warns NGO
The Association for Participatory Citizenship (ACI PARTICIPA) denounced on Thursday that killings of land defenders and attacks aimed at silencing the press continue in Honduras.
“We continue to see murders of defenders of land and territory, as well as aggressions to silence the press. In 2024, there were 490 attacks and aggressions that constitute human rights violations,” said ACI PARTICIPA’s executive director, Hedme Castro, during the presentation of the 2024 Report on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders in Honduras.
Castro noted that the aggressions range “from attempts on lives, threats, harassment, intimidation, and smear campaigns, which have become very frequent, to obstruction of work, surveillance, and criminalization.”
She highlighted that, although only seven defenders were killed in 2024 compared to 24 in 2023, “last year we saw a significantly high number of women murdered, and cases of missing children.”
Moreover, Castro criticized the authorities for failing to address the violence. “There is no response from the authorities to reduce the violence in the country; in fact, I believe that the ‘fathers of the nation’ (members of Parliament) are not setting the right example, and the situation in the Legislative branch is actually fueling violence,” she added, referring to frequent violent incidents in Congress.
The ACI PARTICIPA report also notes that the government led by President Xiomara Castro has made “an important effort over the past two years to improve citizens’ access to basic rights, helping to cushion the effects of economic deterioration, although a decent standard of living has yet to be achieved for the majority of Hondurans.”
Central America
Daniel Ortega’s last historic sandinista ally detained in Managua
Former Sandinista revolutionary commander and presidential economic adviser Bayardo Arce Castaño was arrested on Thursday in Managua for alleged irregular transactions involving state-owned assets, according to local media reports.
The arrest was carried out by agents from the Special Operations Directorate of the Police, who raided his residence in the southern part of the Nicaraguan capital. The Attorney General’s Office (PGR) is investigating Arce for “transactions and/or negotiations” that, according to authorities, do not comply with current legal standards.
Arce, 76, was one of the nine historic commanders of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) who led the overthrow of dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979. Since 2007, he had served as the economic adviser to dictator Daniel Ortega, and was the last of the historic commanders still aligned with the regime.
The Attorney General’s Office accused Arce of contempt after he refused to appear for questioning about properties registered in his name. Authorities allege that Ricardo Bonilla, Arce’s assistant, was also involved in questionable financial dealings and was jailed after failing to comply with a summons.
Study finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
Trump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
Costa Rica faces historic vote on lifting presidential immunity for Rodrigo Chaves
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America4 days agoFuneral turns tragic as armed attack leaves seven dead in Guatemala City
-
Central America4 days agoCosta Rica issues Yellow Alert and halts water activities over tsunami currents
-
Central America5 days agoPeru’s ambassador highlights “historic bonds” with El Salvador on Independence Day
-
International5 days agoU.S. and China push for extension of tariff truce after “constructive” talks in Sweden
-
International4 days agoThree salvadorans in Florida sentenced in $146 million construction tax fraud scheme
-
International5 days agoMedvedev warns Trump after new Ukraine ultimatum: ‘Russia is neither Israel nor Iran’
-
International4 days agoKremlin hails preparedness after Kamchatka quakes leave no casualties
-
International5 days agoTrump administration opens civil rights probe into duke university over alleged bias
-
International4 days agoU.S. launches ads urging undocumented migrants to self-deport via CBP Home App
-
Central America2 days agoDaniel Ortega’s last historic sandinista ally detained in Managua
-
International5 days agoArgentina requests reentry into U.S. Visa Waiver Program during DHS chief’s visit
-
Central America2 days agoHonduras sees ongoing killings of land defenders and attacks on press, warns NGO
-
International5 days agoPetro accuses Marco Rubio of undermining colombia’s sovereignty over Uribe comments
-
Central America2 days agoGuatemala transfers top gang leaders to maximum security prison after funeral home massacre
-
International2 days agoTrump to build $200M ballroom at the White House by 2028
-
International18 hours agoTrump administration blasts judge’s ruling reinstating TPS for Honduras, Nepal, and Nicaragua
-
International18 hours agoStudy finds COVID-19 vaccines prevented 2.5 million deaths worldwide
-
Central America18 hours agoCosta Rica faces historic vote on lifting presidential immunity for Rodrigo Chaves