Central America
Nicaraguan opposition leader Suazo sentenced to 10 years in jail: group

AFP
Nicaraguan opposition leader Yubrank Suazo, who took part in protests against President Daniel Ortega’s government in 2018, was sentenced on Wednesday to 10 years in prison, his group said.
A court in the capital Managua sentenced Suazo to five years in jail for “conspiring to undermine national integrity” and another five years for spreading fake news, according to the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy, where he served as a director.
Suazo was “prosecuted and sentenced without having committed any crime, nor having any link with criminal structures,” the group said in a statement.
The 31-year-old hails from the southern city of Masaya, which was shaken by large anti-government protests in 2018.
The city had declared itself in rebellion against ex-guerrilla Ortega’s government as part of massive nationwide street protests.
The government’s crackdown on the demonstrations left 355 dead.
Suazo was detained in 2018 but released in 2019 as part of an agreement with the government mediated by the Catholic Church, which also saw several hundred other opposition figures freed.
But in May Suazo was arrested again and put on trial.
A Nicaraguan NGO campaigning for political prisoners says about 190 opposition figures have been detained.
About 45 opposition figures, including seven presidential hopefuls, were arrested last year ahead of elections in which Ortega benefitted from the lack of credible opposition to win a fourth successive term.
They were sentenced to up to 13 years in prison for allegedly undermining national security.
Ortega accuses his opponents of trying to oust him with help from the United States, which has hit him and his inner circle with sanctions.
Central America
Guatemala’s President to Hold Private Interviews for Attorney General Candidates
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo de León announced that he will privately interview the six candidates for attorney general this week, breaking with the public format used by former President Alejandro Giammattei.
Speaking during a press conference on Monday, Arévalo said the interviews would not be open to the public because he intends to question candidates about their plans to recover the Attorney General’s Office from what he described as “political-criminal networks.”
Under Guatemalan law, the president is responsible for appointing the country’s attorney general.
The position has been held since 2018 by Consuelo Porras, whose term is set to expire on May 16 after two consecutive terms marked by local and international allegations of corruption.
Arévalo is expected to select the new attorney general later this week from a shortlist recently submitted by a nomination commission.
The Guatemalan president has repeatedly criticized the Public Prosecutor’s Office, claiming it has been compromised by corrupt political interests.
Central America
Guatemala Court Voids List of Candidates for Top Prosecutor Position
Constitutional Court of Guatemala on Thursday annulled the shortlist of six candidates for attorney general and head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, ordering authorities to repeat the evaluation phase of the selection process.
The ruling came in response to a legal appeal filed by Raúl Amílcar Falla Ovalle, who challenged the way professional experience had been assessed for some applicants, particularly those with careers in the judiciary.
As a result of the decision, the selection process has been suspended, and the Postulation Commission must return to the stage in which the original 48 applicants were evaluated.
According to the ruling, the commission must reapply the grading criteria without automatically counting years served as judges as equivalent to the professional experience required for the position.
“The Postulation Commission for the election of the Attorney General and Head of the Public Prosecutor’s Office is ordered to reassess the applicants by strictly applying the approved grading table,” the resolution states.
The Constitutional Court also stressed that the process must guarantee merit, competence, and suitability, while ensuring greater transparency in the assignment of scores.
Central America
U.S. extradites Iranian man over alleged sanctions evasion scheme
The United States has extradited from Panama an Iranian national accused of evading economic sanctions against Iran by illegally exporting U.S. technology. He is scheduled to appear this Monday before a court in Seattle.
Reza Dindar, 44, was extradited on April 17 after being detained in Panama since July 2025 on charges related to export control violations between 2011 and 2012, allegedly carried out through companies based in China.
The defendant appeared before a U.S. district court in Seattle, where he faces charges of violating sanctions imposed by the United States on Iran in 1995 during the administration of Bill Clinton. These sanctions prohibit the unauthorized export, re-export, or supply—directly or indirectly—of U.S. goods, technology, or services to Iran or its government.
According to the indictment, between 2010 and 2014, Dindar led the company New Port Sourcing Solutions in Xi’an, China, which allegedly concealed the procurement of U.S. products for shipment to clients in Iran.
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