Central America

Jailed Nicaraguan opposition figures face ill treatment, relatives say

AFP

Relatives of more than 180 jailed opponents of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s government on Monday denounced the ill treatment they said had been inflicted on the detainees, while Catholic leaders complained of “repression” and harassment by authorities.

Five organizations representing relatives of imprisoned opposition figures launched an “urgent appeal” for their immediate release because of their “extreme physical and mental deterioration.”

The imprisoned opponents are victims of a “policy of ill-treatment (…) in order to exhaust, exterminate or mutilate” them, said a joint press release.

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More than 40 opposition figures accused of “undermining national integrity” and money laundering were arrested in the months running up to last November’s presidential election.

Seven of them were Ortega’s rivals in the presidential election, and their detention gave him an easy return to power for a fourth consecutive term.

The election was slammed as a “pantomime” in Brussels and Washington.

Since February, at least 45 opponents of the government have been sentenced to terms of up to 13 years in prison on charges of plotting to overthrow Ortega with US backing.

Relatives of the prisoners have frequently criticized conditions inside the prisons that sap the detainees’ health to the point where they need emergency hospitalization.

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In February, Hugo Torres, a hero of the Sandinista guerrilla movement who fought with Ortega against the dictatorship of the Somoza dynasty but later turned against his old comrade in arms, died in hospital custody.

The organizations of prisoners’ relatives expressed particular concern over the health of Nidia Barbosa, a 66-year-old activist who suffers from “serious heart problems” and who was hospitalized last week.

The relatives also voiced solidarity with Rolando Alvarez, the bishop of Matagalpa in the north, who has been holed up in his church since Thursday and who started a hunger strike to protest the police surveillance he says he’s been the target of since denouncing the repression of the opposition.

Harvy Padilla, a parish priest in the southern city of Masaya, said that police are also preventing him from leaving his church, and that on Sunday they banned his congregation from attending mass.

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Sports

Artistic swimmer Alvarez finds peace and beauty in images of her rescue

AFP

American artistic swimmer Anita Alvarez said she was “shocked” when she saw the “beautiful” AFP photographs showing her sinking unconscious to the bottom of the pool and being rescued by her coach at the World Swimming Championships.

Alvarez fainted and dropped to the bottom at the end of her individual routine and was saved by her quick-thinking coach. AFP’s underwater robot camera captured astonishing images as the drama unfolded.

Alvarez, who was unconscious throughout, told Spanish media she was moved when she saw the images.

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“At first I was shocked,” she said.

“I didn’t expect something like this to be published. But then I took it in my stride. I didn’t want to look at it negatively.

“Now I think the photos are beautiful, in a way. To see me down there in the water, so peaceful, so quiet, and to see Andrea coming down with her arm outstretched trying to reach me, like a superhero.”

When she saw Alvarez sinking and lifeguards standing watching, coach Andrea Fuentes, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, dived to the bottom of the pool and dragged Alvarez to the surface.

“It was a big scare. I had to jump in because the lifeguards weren’t doing it,” Fuentes told Spanish media.

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“When I saw her sinking, I looked at the rescuers, but I saw that they were stunned. They didn’t react.

“My reflexes kicked in.

“I think she was at least two minutes without breathing because her lungs were full of water,” said Fuentes, a four-time Olympic artistic swimming medallist, adding that the swimmer’s heart was beating.

Alvarez said the photos also reinforced her love of her sport.

“Sometimes the most peaceful place on earth is underwater: when you sit at the bottom of the pool in silence. You feel you are weightless, you are with yourself. I love that. Sometimes I need that moment. And in the photos it all looks very natural.”

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The USA artistic team released a statement from Fuentes on Thursday saying Alvarez had fainted due to the effort expended during the routine.

“This happened to her once last year at the Olympic Qualification Tournament when competing her duet,” said Alyssa Jacobs, a spokeswoman for the US team.

Jacobs said Alvarez could still take part in the Team Free Final on Friday.

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Central America

Dozens of turtles, dolphins found dead in Guatemala, probe launched

AFP

Dozens of turtles, dolphins and other marine species have been found dead on Guatemala’s Pacific coast, prompting an official investigation, authorities said Thursday.

As many as 65 turtles, most of them of the Olive Ridley variety, and 14 dolphins were discovered dead earlier this week, Guatemala’s National Council of Protected Areas told AFP.

The agency didn’t say where exactly the dead animals were found.

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Officials at the agency believe the deaths could have been caused by heavy rains in recent days, which could have carried some toxic materials from the mainland into the sea.

Investigators are also looking into whether industrial fishing being developed offshore could have played a role.

Experts in this Central American nation will now study the animals’ remains to determine what caused the deaths.

Local officials together with volunteers were also looking to see if more dead species were to be found.

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Sports

Medvedev out as Tsitsipas reaches Mallorca semi-finals

AFP

World number one Daniil Medvedev lost to Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarter-finals of the Mallorca Open on Thursday, while second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the last four.

Medvedev was beaten 6-3, 6-2 by Bautista Agut who avenged his defeat by the Russian in last week’s quarter-finals at Halle.

“I had to play very good to beat Daniil. He’s the number one, the last champion here in Mallorca. He just beat me a few days ago. I played a really complete match,” said Bautista Agut.

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Bautista Agut broke Medvedev once in the first set and twice in the second as he earned a fourth win in five meetings with the US Open champion.

The Spaniard takes on Tallon Griekspoor or Switzerland’s 303rd-ranked Antoine Bellier in the semi-finals.

The loss marks the end of Medvedev’s grass-court season. He is one of several players banned from Wimbledon following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Tsitsipas needed three sets to get past American Marcos Giron.

The Greek saved two break points to start the final set and then broke Giron in the eighth game before completing a 7-6 (7/5), 4-6, 6-3 victory.

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Tsitsipas, who has lost in the first round on three of his four appearances at Wimbledon, will play France’s Benjamin Bonzi for a place in the final. He has never won a title on grass.