Nicaraguan government announces release of dozens of prisoners amid increased US pressure

The Nicaraguan Ministry of the Interior has announced the release of dozens of people from the National Penitentiary System following increased pressure from the United States on the government of President Daniel Ortega. The ministry released the statement, noting that the released prisoners were returning to their families and homes. This was reported by the Associated Press.

Earlier, the US Embassy in Nicaragua welcomed Venezuela's decision to release the so-called political prisoners, while noting that more than 60 people in Nicaragua itself remain unjustly detained or missing. Among them, according to the US side, are religious leaders, the elderly and people with serious illnesses. It is not officially specified who was released in Nicaragua and under what conditions, and the government of the country did not provide additional comments in response to media inquiries.

The authorities' repressive policy has been ongoing since 2018, when mass anti-government protests were brutally suppressed. Since then, Ortega's government has imprisoned opposition politicians, journalists, religious leaders and activists, and subsequently deported many of them, stripping them of their citizenship and property. During this period, more than 5,000 organisations, mostly religious, were closed in the country, and thousands of Nicaraguans were forced to leave the country. In previous years, hundreds of political prisoners were released and sent to other countries, including the United States and Guatemala, which human rights activists viewed as an attempt to reduce international pressure and neutralise domestic opposition.

On 10 March, the US State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs again criticised the Nicaraguan government, saying that the country's citizens elected a president, not an «illegal lifetime dynasty», and that constitutional changes and the suppression of dissent will not destroy the Nicaraguans' desire for freedom. Danny Ramirez-Ayerdis, Executive Secretary of the human rights organisation CADILH, called the release a positive step, but warned that former prisoners and their families may continue to face persecution and constant surveillance by security forces. He also expressed his belief that the authorities' decision was a direct response to pressure from the United States and the fear of further harsh measures from them.

USA, Nicaragua, political prisoners