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Nicaragua frees 222 opponents of Ortega, sends them to US

Published:Thursday | February 9, 2023 | 1:47 PM
Police stand guard at a holding center known as "El Chipote," officially called the Judicial Assistance Directorate, as they face demonstrators, on the other side of the fence, protesting the arrests of anti-government protesters in Managua, Nicaragua, April 25, 2018. Some 222 inmates were on a flight from Nicaragua to Washington, DC on February 9, 2023 after they were “unilaterally” released, according to a senior Biden administration official. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga, File)

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Some 222 inmates considered by many to be political prisoners of the government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega flew to Washington on Thursday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.

Blinken said the prisoners had been jailed “for exercising their fundamental freedoms and have endured lengthy unjust detentions.”

“The release of these individuals, one of whom is a US citizen, by the government of Nicaragua marks a constructive step towards addressing human rights abuses in the country and opens the door to further dialogue between the United States and Nicaragua regarding issues of concern,” Blinken said.

He said that among those on the plane were political and business leaders, journalists, civil society representatives and students. Blinken credited “concerted American diplomacy.”

A senior Biden administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, had said earlier that the government of Nicaragua decided “unilaterally” to release them.

Ortega has maintained that his imprisoned opponents and others were behind 2018 street protests that he claims were a plot to overthrow him. Tens of thousands have fled into exile since Nicaraguan security forces violently put down those anti-government protests.

The Nicaraguan opposition's latest count on “political prisoners” held had been 245. It was not immediately clear who was not released.

The US official said the freed prisoners will be paroled for humanitarian reasons into the United States for a period of two years. The official said all of those who left Nicaragua did so voluntarily and are to receive medical and legal assistance upon arrival in the US.

A Nicaraguan judge read a statement saying the 222 prisoners had been “deported.”

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