Central America
Nicaraguan government strips nearly a hundred opponents of their nationality
16 de febrero | Redacción |
The Nicaraguan justice on Wednesday withdrew the nationality of at least 94 people critical of President Daniel Ortega, accused of the crime of “treason”, informed magistrate Ernesto Rodríguez in official media.
Rodríguez read out a resolution in which he indicated that these persons were imposed “accessory penalties” which include absolute and special disqualification to hold public office, as well as to hold elected office and the loss of their citizenship rights “in perpetuity”.
The list includes opposition members, journalists, former ambassadors and former deputies; among them stand out the poet Gioconda Belli and the former vice-president of Nicaragua Sergio Ramírez.
Other journalists include Wilfredo Miranda, correspondent for El País; Carlos Fernando Chamorro, director of Confidencial and son of former Nicaraguan President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro; and Lucía Pineda Ubau, a former political prisoner.
“This is something I expected since 2018 when they stole our TV Channel, 100%Noticias,” Ubau told VOA. “But God will return everything to me, I put it in God’s hands, my house cost me and when God chooses the moment when they will return everything to me it will be better.”
Nicaragua’s former diplomat to the OAS, Arturo McFields, who is also on the list, reacted on Twitter after the court’s decision and said that being declared a traitor to the homeland “means that we are fighting for the return of democracy to Nicaragua”.
Also on the list are Supreme Court Justice Rafael Solís; as well as priests Silvio José Báez, Uriel Vallejos and Edwin Román.
The measure was announced a week after the Nicaraguan government released 222 political prisoners who were also stripped of their nationality, in a measure criticized by human rights organizations.
The U.S. government was quick to react to the announcement and, through Undersecretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols, described the action as “deplorable”.
“We condemn today’s action by the government of Nicaragua stripping 94 more Nicaraguan citizens of their nationality,” Nichols said on social media. “This deplorable act represents a step in the opposite direction of the democracy that the people of Nicaragua deserve.”
Central America
El Salvador to host World Cup qualifiers vs. Guatemala and Panama at Estadio Cuscatlán
El Salvador’s national football team will host its final round World Cup qualifying matches against Guatemala and Panama at Estadio Cuscatlán, the honorary president of the National Sports Institute (INDES), Yamil Bukele, announced Thursday via a statement on his X account.
The official explained that this decision comes after the American rock band Guns N’ Roses, originally scheduled to perform at Estadio Cuscatlán on Saturday, October 4, will now hold their concert at Estadio Jorge “El Mágico” González. This change allows both of La Selecta’s qualifying matches to be played at the “Coloso de Monserrat.”
“After a series of efforts and in response to popular demand, we are pleased to announce that our senior national team’s CONCACAF World Cup qualifying matches next October (Oct. 10 vs. Panama and Oct. 14 vs. Guatemala) will take place at Estadio Cuscatlán,” the statement reads.
Bukele also thanked the event promoters and the band for agreeing to the stadium change. “We sincerely thank Guns N’ Roses and StarTicket for agreeing to move the concert originally scheduled for October 4 at Estadio Cuscatlán,” the statement adds.
Additionally, Bukele expressed gratitude to the FESFUT Regularization Commission for their efforts with CONCACAF to make this possible, and he urged fans to stay tuned to official channels to purchase tickets and support La Selecta in their World Cup qualifying campaign.
Central America
Honduran president Xiomara Castro suspends activities due to influenza
Honduran President Xiomara Castro announced on Thursday that she has “temporarily” suspended her public activities due to a severe influenza virus.
“A strong influenza virus requires me to rest, trusting that I will be fully recovered for the grand celebration of our National Independence Day” next Monday, Castro stated on the social media platform X.
The president had planned to participate in several inaugurations across the northern, central, and eastern regions of the country throughout the week. She added that “these events will be rescheduled for new dates.”
Central America
Nicaragua’s government expels bishops, priests, and nuns in religious persecution
At least 261 religious figures, including the president of the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference, Carlos Enrique Herrera, have been expelled as part of the persecution by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo’s regime against the Catholic Church, reported the NGO Colectivo Nicaragua Nunca Más in its report Faith Under Fire.
The report details that among those expelled are bishops Silvio Báez, Rolando Álvarez, Isidoro Mora, as well as the Apostolic Nuncio in Managua, Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, along with approximately 140 priests, over 90 nuns, ten seminarians, and three deacons from different dioceses in the country.
“Since the expulsion of Nuncio Sommertag in March 2022, relations between Nicaragua and the Vatican have significantly deteriorated,” the NGO noted.
The report also documents the closure of 5,609 non-profit organizations, of which 1,294 were religious, including churches, universities, schools, clinics, and humanitarian organizations. Most of these had their assets confiscated by the Sandinista government. Additionally, the telecommunications regulator TELCOR shut down 54 media outlets, including 22 religious radio stations and TV channels.
Repression has extended to other religious denominations, with forced disappearances and criminalization of evangelical pastors, control over temples, media censorship, fiscal pressure, property confiscation, and the cancellation of legal status for the Moravian Church. Pastor Rudy Palacios remains in detention as part of this pattern of persecution.
The NGO emphasized that churches, especially the Catholic Church, played a key role in the 2018 national dialogue, denouncing abuses and providing refuge to injured protesters, which fueled the government’s hostility.
In 2023, Pope Francis described Ortega’s regime as a “blatant dictatorship”, to which the Nicaraguan president responded by dissolving the Society of Jesus and labeling the Church as a “mafia” and “anti-democratic.”
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