Central America
The endless wait for word on loved ones arrested in Nicaragua
Every day, family members of the 21 opposition figures rounded up in Nicaragua in the past month visit the prison where they think their loved ones are held. Every day they leave disappointed, with no contact and no news.
“Some have been (held) for 31 days and no one” has been allowed to see them, “not even the lawyers,” said Martha Urcuyo, wife of detainee Pedro Chamorro.
“We hope that they are here,” she told AFP on one of her regular, but fruitless, visits to El Chipote prison southwest of Managua with other spouses, parents and children of the 21 seized in house raids and nighttime arrests which began on June 2.
Chamorro, a journalist, former opposition lawmaker and son of ex-president Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, was arrested on June 25 on charges of “inciting foreign interference” and “applauding” sanctions against Nicaragua.
His was the most recent arrest in the raids that have netted five presidential candidates including his sister Cristiana Chamorro — a favorite to beat Ortega in the November poll. She is under house arrest.
The siblings’ mother had beaten Ortega in 1990, ending an 11-year spell for the ex-guerilla at Nicaragua’s helm. He returned in 2007 and has twice won re-election since then.
Ortega accuses the detainees, who include critics, politicians, businessmen and former comrades, of being “criminals” seeking to overthrow him with US backing.
Under threat, several other Ortega opponents have fled the country ahead of the election in which he is widely expected to seek a fourth consecutive term, though he has not said so.
Most of the detainees face charges under a new law initiated by Ortega’s government and approved by parliament in December to defend Nicaragua’s “sovereignty.”
The law has been widely criticized as a means of freezing out challengers and silencing opponents.
– “We know nothing’ –
The international community has condemned Ortega’s crackdown and called for the release of the detainees.
But neither the outcry nor fresh US sanctions against Ortega allies have stopped the parade of detainees to El Chipote pre-trial prison — where rights groups have reported numerous instances of beatings and mistreatment in recent years.
It has been torture for loved ones as well.
“We always bring food, and then go back home with it,” Urcuyo said as she approached the jail bearing a recyclable plastic shopping bag with goodies for her husband, squaring her shoulders as she walked past a line of police in riot gear.
“We come three times a day and the only thing they (the guards) take from us is water,” she added.
Arlen Tinoco, the daughter of detained former foreign minister Victor Tinoco, said “we know nothing” about the fate of the prisoners.
“They have not informed us, they have not said anything. They have not allowed them (the prisoners) to see lawyers, we have zero information.”
A firebrand Marxist in his younger days, Ortega and his Sandinistas toppled a corrupt autocratic regime to popular applause and seized control of the country in 1979.
But opponents have increasingly denounced a descent into dictatorship, nepotism and corruption under Ortega, who leads the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN).
His vice president is also his wife, Rosario Murillo.
Last week, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet urged the UN’s Human Rights Council to hold the Ortega government to account for “serious violations committed since April 2018,” including the recent arrests.
Rallies demanding the resignation of Ortega and Murillo broke out that year, but a violent clampdown claimed 328 lives, according to rights bodies, while hundreds were imprisoned and some 100,000 Nicaraguans fled into exile.
Central America
Guatemala cracks down on prison corruption with over 20 raids in recent weeks
The Guatemalan government warned on Monday that it will not tolerate corruption within the prison system, highlighting that more than 20 raids conducted in recent weeks have helped regain control over its penitentiaries.
“We will not tolerate any acts of corruption from our personnel,” said José Portillo, Deputy Minister of Security at the Ministry of the Interior, during a press conference.
According to Portillo, 21 raids were carried out in the last 15 days with support from security forces across the penitentiary system, and a total of 140 raids have been conducted so far in 2025.
These operations have resulted in the confiscation of dozens of household appliances and cell phones, as well as weapons and other prohibited items inside the prisons.
“We are firmly controlling bribery and corruption,” emphasized the recently appointed deputy minister, adding that “we will be strong and decisive within the penitentiary system.”
Portillo explained that the purpose of these raids is to tackle structural causes within prisons, which are the origin of much of the violence affecting the Central American country, including contract killings and extortions.
He stated that the recent operations have helped reduce crime and identify “hot spots” in the country.
“We are impacting criminal structures,” the official said.
Data released on June 6 by the Director of the National Civil Police, David Custodio Boteo, reported 1,385 homicides in the first five months of the year, representing a 15 percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Experts on the subject point out that thousands of Guatemalan merchants fall victim to extortions that originate precisely within the prisons.
Central America
First woman elected president in the Americas, Violeta Chamorro, dead at 95
Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, former president of Nicaragua and the first woman in the Americas to be democratically elected head of state, passed away this Saturday in Costa Rica at the age of 95. A pivotal figure in Nicaragua’s transition to democracy, Chamorro achieved a historic victory over Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega in the 1990 elections, heading a broad opposition coalition.
The Chamorro Barrios family confirmed her death in a statement:
“Our mother, Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, former president of Nicaragua, passed away today, June 14, 2025, at 2:21 a.m. (08:21 GMT) in San José, Costa Rica, at the age of 95, after a long illness.”
“Doña Violeta died peacefully, surrounded by the love and affection of her children and the extraordinary care of those who looked after her. She is now in the peace of the Lord,” her children Pedro Joaquín, Claudia Lucía, Cristiana, and Carlos Fernando Chamorro Barrios wrote.
Chamorro’s victory in 1990 marked a significant turning point in Central American politics, ending more than a decade of Sandinista rule and initiating a fragile but hopeful democratic chapter in Nicaragua’s history.
Central America
Nicaraguan exile coalition urges Costa Rica to receive U.S. deportees fleeing Ortega regime
The Coalition of Nicaraguans in Exile urged Costa Rican President Rodrigo Chaves on Sunday to receive opponents and critics of the Ortega-Murillo regime currently residing in the United States who may be deported by the administration of Donald Trump.
“We appeal to you, Mr. President, to kindly consider, as an act of humanity and in accordance with the principles of international refugee law, the reopening of entry and temporary reception pathways for Nicaraguan citizens deported from the United States,” the coalition stated in a letter addressed to Chaves.
They specifically requested the reopening of entry for those Nicaraguans who had previously sought asylum or refugee status in Costa Rica and who express a well-founded fear for their lives and personal safety if returned to Nicaragua.
The organization, which identifies itself as committed to defending and promoting the human rights of Nicaraguans “forced into exile by the repression of the Sandinista dictatorship,” expressed its appeal with “urgency and deep concern.”
In the letter, the coalition emphasized the dramatic situation faced by thousands of Nicaraguans who fled political persecution under Daniel Ortega’s regime and are now at risk of deportation from the United States.
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