Central America

The endless wait for word on loved ones arrested in Nicaragua

Every day, family members of the 21 opposition figures rounded up in Nicaragua in the past month visit the prison where they think their loved ones are held. Every day they leave disappointed, with no contact and no news.

“Some have been (held) for 31 days and no one” has been allowed to see them, “not even the lawyers,” said Martha Urcuyo, wife of detainee Pedro Chamorro.

“We hope that they are here,” she told AFP on one of her regular, but fruitless, visits to El Chipote prison southwest of Managua with other spouses, parents and children of the 21 seized in house raids and nighttime arrests which began on June 2.

Chamorro, a journalist, former opposition lawmaker and son of ex-president Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, was arrested on June 25 on charges of “inciting foreign interference” and “applauding” sanctions against Nicaragua.

His was the most recent arrest in the raids that have netted five presidential candidates including his sister Cristiana Chamorro — a favorite to beat Ortega in the November poll. She is under house arrest.

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The siblings’ mother had beaten Ortega in 1990, ending an 11-year spell for the ex-guerilla at Nicaragua’s helm. He returned in 2007 and has twice won re-election since then.

Ortega accuses the detainees, who include critics, politicians, businessmen and former comrades, of being “criminals” seeking to overthrow him with US backing.

Under threat, several other Ortega opponents have fled the country ahead of the election in which he is widely expected to seek a fourth consecutive term, though he has not said so.

Most of the detainees face charges under a new law initiated by Ortega’s government and approved by parliament in December to defend Nicaragua’s “sovereignty.”

The law has been widely criticized as a means of freezing out challengers and silencing opponents.

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– “We know nothing’ –

The international community has condemned Ortega’s crackdown and called for the release of the detainees.

But neither the outcry nor fresh US sanctions against Ortega allies have stopped the parade of detainees to El Chipote pre-trial prison — where rights groups have reported numerous instances of beatings and mistreatment in recent years.

It has been torture for loved ones as well.

“We always bring food, and then go back home with it,” Urcuyo said as she approached the jail bearing a recyclable plastic shopping bag with goodies for her husband, squaring her shoulders as she walked past a line of police in riot gear.

“We come three times a day and the only thing they (the guards) take from us is water,” she added.

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Arlen Tinoco, the daughter of detained former foreign minister Victor Tinoco, said “we know nothing” about the fate of the prisoners.

“They have not informed us, they have not said anything. They have not allowed them (the prisoners) to see lawyers, we have zero information.”

A firebrand Marxist in his younger days, Ortega and his Sandinistas toppled a corrupt autocratic regime to popular applause and seized control of the country in 1979.

But opponents have increasingly denounced a descent into dictatorship, nepotism and corruption under Ortega, who leads the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN).

His vice president is also his wife, Rosario Murillo.

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Last week, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet urged the UN’s Human Rights Council to hold the Ortega government to account for “serious violations committed since April 2018,” including the recent arrests.

Rallies demanding the resignation of Ortega and Murillo broke out that year, but a violent clampdown claimed 328 lives, according to rights bodies, while hundreds were imprisoned and some 100,000 Nicaraguans fled into exile.

Central America

Panama grants Martinelli 72-hour extension to travel to Nicaragua

On Monday (March 31, 2025), Panama extended the safe-conduct pass for former President Ricardo Martinelli by three more days to allow him to travel to Nicaragua, after the Central American country refused to receive him due to concerns over an alleged Interpol arrest warrant.

“The National Government has decided to extend the validity of the safe-conduct pass for an additional seventy-two (72) hours, until the end of Thursday, April 3, 2025,” the Panamanian Foreign Ministry stated in a communiqué. The original permit was set to expire Monday at midnight (05:00 GMT on Tuesday).

The Foreign Ministry explained that regarding the ‘humanitarian asylum’ granted to Martinelli last Thursday, which was set to expire Monday at midnight, the Nicaraguan government requested clarifications about an apparent Interpol alert, which had already been dismissed as inadmissible.

Additionally, the Panamanian Supreme Court of Justice, as the highest authority of the Judicial Branch, stated on Monday that it had “no objections” to granting asylum and a safe-conduct to Martinelli, as it falls under the jurisdiction of the Executive Branch.

Central America

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary urges Mexico to strengthen Guatemala border

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem revealed on Monday that during last week’s meeting with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, she urged Mexico to reinforce its border with Guatemala and share biometric datawith U.S. authorities.

“I gave her a list of things that President Trump would love to see. And it was exceptional. It was supposed to be a half-hour meeting, but we talked for nearly two hours. It was very productive,” Noem said in an interview with Fox News.

The Homeland Security Secretary requested that Sheinbaum, who has already deployed 10,000 National Guard troopsalong Mexico’s northern border with the U.S., also secure Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala.

Noem added that she also asked the Mexican president to share biometric data with the U.S., to which Sheinbaum responded that she was “willing to discuss it,” although she acknowledged that it could be a controversial issue in her country.

Central America

Panama police clarifies that Interpol alert for Martinelli is still pending

Panama’s National Police clarified on Sunday that an Interpol alert request for former President Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014) is still under review and has yet to be confirmed. Martinelli was granted a safe-conduct pass last Thursday to leave the Nicaraguan embassy, where he has been seeking asylum since February 2024 after being convicted of corruption.

“The National Police clarifies that there is currently an active process for an Interpol alert, requested by Judge Baloisa Marquínez, against former President Ricardo Martinelli. This request must be analyzed by Interpol’s General Secretariat (headquartered in France) for approval or rejection. If approved, it will be notified to member countries,” the police stated in a press release sent to EFE.

According to the statement, “at the moment, it remains an ongoing procedure, and former President Martinelli does not have a confirmed alert.”

The announcement came hours after National Police Director Jaime Fernández had told the press that an “Interpol alert” for Martinelli had been received on Friday.