The United States has successfully negotiated the release of 135 political prisoners from Nicaragua on humanitarian grounds.
According to US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, these individuals are Nicaraguan citizens who had been “unjustly detained.”
The released prisoners arrived in Guatemala early Thursday morning local time and will now have the opportunity to apply for relocation to the United States.
The Nicaraguan government, led by President Daniel Ortega, has detained hundreds of individuals since mass protests erupted against his administration in 2018.
A recent report by the United Nations human rights office detailed the worsening human rights conditions in Nicaragua over the past year, including cases of detainees subjected to torture, sexual abuse, and electric shocks.
The OHCHR report noted that persecution in Nicaragua extends beyond dissenters to include any individual or organization operating independently or outside of government control. Nicaraguan authorities have shut down over 5,000 non-governmental organizations, private universities, and civil society groups on government orders, with church-affiliated groups particularly targeted.
Among the 135 individuals released are Catholic laypeople, students, and 13 members of the Texas-based evangelical group Mountain Gateway. This marks the second large-scale release of political prisoners facilitated by the US, following the release of 222 detainees in February last year.
Rights organizations have long criticized the escalating repression of dissent in Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan government has responded to criticism by revoking the citizenship of those who oppose it and confiscating their property.
In its statement, the White House urged the Nicaraguan government to “cease the arbitrary arrest and detention of its citizens for merely exercising their fundamental freedoms.” The Nicaraguan government has yet to issue a response.
