Connect with us

Central America

Nicaragua arrests banking executive as clampdown tightens

AFP

Nicaraguan police have arrested a top banking executive as a clampdown on opposition figures and would-be challengers to long-term leader Daniel Ortega tightened ahead of November presidential elections.

Luis Rivas Anduray, executive president of the private Banco de la Produccion (Banpro) — one of Nicaragua’s largest — was arrested Tuesday for “inciting foreign interference,” a police statement said.

His arrest is the latest under a law initiated by Ortega’s government and approved by parliament in December to defend Nicaragua’s “sovereignty.” It is criticized by opponents and rights bodies as a means of freezing out political challengers.

Rivas, also the operations director of the Grupo Promerica — a conglomerate of central American financial institutions — is the 14th person to be arrested in a roundup that started early this month.

Advertisement
20250407_mh_renta_728x90
20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90
20231124_etesal_728x90_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90
domfuturo_netview-728x90
20240604_dom_728x90
CEL
previous arrow
next arrow

Of the detainees, four had declared they would stand in the November elections, in which Ortega is widely expected to also run.

According to the police statement, Rivas is under investigation for “proposing and managing blockades of economic, commercial and financial operations” and for backing sanctions against Nicaragua.

Banpro said in a statement that it operated in adherence with Nicaraguan laws, and was “confident” that Rivas’s “situation will be clarified.”

His arrest is the second of a business figure under the new law. Jose Adan Aguerri, head of the CCIE business federation, was detained on similar charges last week.

Nicaragua has come under fire internationally for the campaign, which began on June 2 when Cristiana Chamorro, the daughter of former president Violeta Barrios de Chamorro was ordered held in house arrest.

Advertisement
20250407_mh_renta_728x90
20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90
20231124_etesal_728x90_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90
domfuturo_netview-728x90
20240604_dom_728x90
CEL
previous arrow
next arrow

The older Chamorro had beaten Ortega in presidential elections in 1990.

The Organization of American States on Tuesday adopted a resolution calling on Nicaragua to “immediately release” those arrested “in the current wave of repression.”

On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed the resolution which he said concluded that conditions for free and fair elections “do not exist.”

“It is time for the Ortega-Murillo regime to change course… and allow the Nicaraguan people to fully exercise their rights — including their right to choose their leaders in free and fair elections,” he said in a statement.

Rosario Murillo is Ortega’s wife and Nicaragua’s vice president.

Advertisement
20250407_mh_renta_728x90
20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90
20231124_etesal_728x90_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90
domfuturo_netview-728x90
20240604_dom_728x90
CEL
previous arrow
next arrow

The government in Managua on Tuesday defended the arrests of opposition figures it said were “usurpers” funded by the United States to topple Ortega.

Ortega governed Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, then returned to power in 2007. He has won two successive reelections since then.

Now 75, he is accused by the opposition and NGOs of increasing authoritarianism.

Continue Reading
Advertisement
20250407_mh_renta_300x250
20250301_vacunacion_vph-300x250
20231124_etesal_300x250_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_300X250
MARN1

Central America

Nicaragua’s Ortega and Murillo Mourn Pope Francis, Acknowledge ‘Difficult’ Relationship

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo, who also serve as co-leaders of the country, expressed their condolences on Monday following the death of Pope Francis, acknowledging that their relationship with the late pontiff had been “difficult” and “troubled.” Nicaragua officially suspended diplomatic ties with the Vatican during his papacy.

“Our relationship, as Nicaraguans who are believers, devoted and faithful to the doctrine of Christ Jesus, was difficult and troubled—unfortunately shaped by adverse and painful circumstances that were not always understood,” Ortega and Murillo wrote in a message of condolence.

“Despite the complexity and hardships, despite the manipulation we all know occurred, despite everything, we kept our hope alive through Christian faith,” they continued. “We understood the distance, and above all, the complicated and strained communication that prevented better relations. We also recognized the confusion caused by strident voices that disrupted any attempt at genuine interaction.”

Pope Francis had previously compared the Ortega regime to communist dictatorships and even to Hitler, a remark that further strained relations between Managua and the Holy See.

Continue Reading

Central America

Cardinal Rodríguez to Attend Funeral of Pope Francis: “He Was Very Dear to Me”

Honduran Cardinal Óscar Andrés Rodríguez announced on Monday that he will attend the funeral services of Pope Francis, who passed away at the age of 88 at his residence in Casa Santa Marta due to a stroke.

“We will be there throughout the novena and then, God willing, at the burial,” Rodríguez said in a phone interview with HRN Radio in Tegucigalpa, apparently calling from Spain.

He added that the last time he saw Pope Francis was in October 2024, during and at the end of that year’s synod, and that they remained in contact through email. “Sometimes, the Pope would even call me,” said Rodríguez, who was born on December 29, 1942, and was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II on February 21, 2001.

Rodríguez expressed deep sorrow over the passing of Pope Francis, saying: “He was a very dear person to me.”
However, he also shared a message of hope, pointing out that the Holy Father passed away during Easter: “This is a sign. He gave his life completely like the Lord Jesus, and though he died, we believe in faith that he has risen, now with Christ in eternal life.”

Rodríguez, who for ten years coordinated the Vatican’s Council of Cardinals, was one of the eight cardinals selected by Pope Francis to help govern the Catholic Church and reform the Roman Curia.

Advertisement

20250407_mh_renta_728x90
20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90
20231124_etesal_728x90_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90
domfuturo_netview-728x90
20240604_dom_728x90
CEL

previous arrow
next arrow

In January 2023, upon turning 80, Rodríguez stepped down as Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, and Pope Francis appointed Spanish priest José Vicente Nácher Tatay as his successor.

Continue Reading

Central America

Senator Van Hollen Meets with Deported MS-13 Member in El Salvador; Trump and Bukele React

U.S. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, representing the state of Maryland, held a meeting in El Salvador with deported MS-13 gang member Kilmar Ábrego García, a member of the criminal group classified by the U.S. government as a terrorist organization.

“Kilmar Ábrego García, miraculously resurrected from the ‘extermination camps’ and ‘torture chambers,’ now sipping margaritas with Senator Van Hollen in the tropical paradise of El Salvador!” wrote President Nayib Bukeleon X (formerly Twitter), sharing photos of Van Hollen, Ábrego García, and a lawyer sitting together at a Salvadoran hotel.

The deported gang member is seen wearing a plaid shirt and a flat-brimmed cap, seated at a table with glasses and coffee cups. The senator also shared images of the meeting on his own social media accounts.

Bukele reaffirmed that Ábrego will remain in El Salvador and will not be returned to the United States.

“Now that his health has been confirmed, he has earned the honor of remaining under the custody of El Salvador,” Bukele added.

Advertisement

20250407_mh_renta_728x90
20250301_vacunacion_vph-728x90
20231124_etesal_728x90_1
20230601_agenda_primera_infancia_728X90
domfuturo_netview-728x90
20240604_dom_728x90
CEL

previous arrow
next arrow

Former U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the senator’s meeting with Ábrego on Truth Social, calling Van Hollen “a fool” for advocating for Ábrego’s return to the U.S.

Continue Reading

Trending

Central News