In late 2021, three decades after the end of Nicaragua’s civil war, the government cracked down harshly on opposition parties and staged a rigged election that confirmed President Daniel Ortega’s intention to establish a dynastic authoritarian regime. Thousands have fled the country since 2018, when a mass uprising spurred by an unpopular reform to the social security system was met with state violence, resulting in hundreds of deaths. Through its fieldwork and advocacy, Crisis Group seeks to contribute to a negotiated exit from the crisis and prevent further bloodshed.
This week on Hold your Fire! Richard Atwood and Naz Modirzadeh talk to Crisis Group experts Tiziano Breda and Ivan Briscoe about politics in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras and why Central Americans are leaving for the United States.
Govt continued to crackdown on opposition and Catholic Church despite sustained international condemnation.
Repression of opposition and Catholic church continued. Following late Sept arrest of Brooklyn Rivera, only indigenous parliament representative, Rivera’s YATAMA party 1 Oct denounced detention and that of fellow politician Nancy Rodriquez. Authorities 3 Oct rescinded YATAMA’s legal status and closed two YATAMA-run radio stations. Govt 12 Oct allocated Rivera’s seat to ruling party politician. Despite Vatican’s late Sept call for diplomatic dialogue, attacks on Catholic church continued. Notably, police and paramilitary groups 1-9 Oct detained six Catholic priests. Govt 18 Oct freed six priests and exiled them to Rome following deal with Vatican. Authorities 24 Oct cancelled legal status of local chapter of Franciscan order and 16 NGOs, many of whom have ties to Catholic Church.
International community kept up pressure on Managua. EU Council 9 Oct extended measures including asset freeze and travel bans on 21 individuals and three entities until Oct 2024. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights 10 Oct briefed Organization of American States (OAS) permanent council about situation in country, saying govt’s actions part of repressive strategy to consolidate power and silence critics. OAS next day condemned situation and called on govt to respect and protect human rights.
In another important development. Nicaraguan Central Bank 17 Oct announced reduction in imports and exports in first eight months of 2023 compared to same period in 2022.
[Nicaraguan President Ortega] would prefer to revert to a steady, low-level authoritarian government in which there are perhaps none of the more visible forms of abuses b...
This virtual roundtable assesses the risks of turmoil and political violence, the aggravation of the country’s humanitarian predicament resulting in a surge of emigration and its significance for the region’s democratic backslide.
Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, have arrested more than 30 high-level opponents in recent weeks. In this commentary for Global Americans, Crisis Group's Central America Analyst Tiziano Breda explains what's at stake.
Frente a los comicios nicaragüenses de noviembre, el gobierno ya está maquinando un resultado a su favor. Un resultado injusto podría desatar disturbios y una violenta represión. La comunidad internacional debe impulsar reformas y diálogo con la oposición, evitando al mismo tiempo sanciones contraproducentes.
A medida que el coronavirus se propaga, y la elección presidencial en EE. UU. se aproxima, la administración Trump y el gobierno mexicano continúan deportando migrantes de El Salvador, Guatemala y Honduras. Algunos deportados portan el virus. Los Estados de América Central deberían presionar a sus vecinos del norte para que adopten medidas sanitarias más estrictas.
En Nicaragua, la represión política y las dificultades económicas están encaminando al país hacia un conflicto prolongado de baja intensidad. En este extracto de nuestra Watch List 2019 (tercera actualización para funcionarios políticos europeos), Crisis Group insta a la UE a presionar por el cumplimiento de acuerdos anteriores y una nueva ronda de negociaciones que puedan ayudar al país a salir de una parálisis letal.
Watch List Updates complement International Crisis Group’s annual Watch List, most recently published in January 2019. These early-warning publications identify major conflict situations in which prompt action, driven or supported by the European Union and its member states, would generate stronger prospects for peace. The third update to the Watch List 2019 includes entries on Afghanistan, Nicaragua, Sudan and Yemen.
El gobierno del presidente Daniel Ortega ha excarcelado a casi todos los presos políticos detenidos desde el levantamiento de Nicaragua en 2018. Debería mantener este rumbo, cumpliendo con los demás compromisos hechos con la oposición en el diálogo nacional. Los actores internacionales deberían mantener viva la promesa de nuevas sanciones si el gobierno incumple.
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