Central America
Nicaragua grants asylum to former panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli
The government led by Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua granted asylum on Wednesday to the former President of Panama (2009-2014) and re-election candidate Ricardo Martinelli, who was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison and fined over 19 million dollars for money laundering.
“In accordance with the 1928 Convention on Asylum and the 1933 Convention on Political Asylum, ratified by our country, and recognizing that asylum is an institution of humanitarian nature and that all persons may be under its protection, without distinction of nationality,” Nicaragua decided “to grant asylum to Mr. Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal, former President of the Republic of Panama,” stated the Nicaraguan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a declaration.
In the letter sent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Panama, Nicaragua explained that Martinelli requested asylum at the Embassy of the Republic of Nicaragua in Panama, led by journalist Consuelo Sandoval, “considering himself persecuted for political reasons and being in imminent risk his life, physical integrity, and security.”
In this regard, the Government of Nicaragua requested the Government of Panama to provide assurances for the “prompt departure and humanitarian transfer of the asylum seeker Ricardo Alberto Martinelli Berrocal to the territory of the Republic of Nicaragua.”
A source close to the former president told EFE that Martinelli requested asylum from the Nicaraguan Government because in Panama there are no “constitutional guarantees” nor “is there law,” after being sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for money laundering. The same source confirmed to EFE that the Nicaraguan Ministry of Foreign Affairs admitted the asylum request.
Martinelli considers himself a political persecuted.
Central America
El Salvador’s MARN monitors ongoing seismic activity in La Unión department
Seismic activity in the Conchagua area and its surroundings, located in the department of La Unión, continues to accumulate events, surpassing 1,350 aftershocks as of Wednesday morning, according to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN).
As of 6:00 AM on December 18th, a total of 1,351 earthquakes have been recorded, of which 176 were felt, according to the data published by the Ministry of Environment. The seismic activity in this area of the eastern part of the country began on December 8th after a magnitude 5.8 earthquake was recorded at 9:50 PM. The magnitudes of the aftershocks have ranged between 2.5 and 5.0.
The Ministry of Environment continues to monitor seismic activity in this region and throughout El Salvador to take appropriate measures and ensure the safety of the Salvadoran population.
Sports
Real Madrid clinches fourth Intercontinental Cup with 3-0 victory over Pachuca
Real Madrid crowned themselves champions of their fourth Intercontinental Cup on Wednesday, defeating Mexican club Pachuca 3-0 in Doha, thanks to goals from Frenchman Kylian Mbappé and Brazilians Rodrygo and Vinicius.
The ‘Merengues’ thus capped off a spectacular 2024 year, winning five titles. Before this success in Qatar, they had already claimed the Spanish League, the UEFA Champions League, and the Super Cups of Spain and Europe.
Mbappé, who made his return after a minor muscle injury, capitalized on a pass from Brazilian Vinicius in the 37th minute, who dribbled past goalkeeper Carlos Moreno, to finish from close range. It was the first shot on target for Real Madrid.
The team doubled their lead with another brilliant goal from Rodrygo, who feigned a shot to beat his defenders and created enough space to take a strike from the edge of the area, beating Moreno in the 53rd minute.
For a few moments, the goal was under review after Venezuelan referee Jesús Valenzuela was called to check a potential offside by Jude Bellingham.
However, the referee concluded that the Englishman did not interfere with the play and the goal was allowed.
Five minutes later, Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois had to use his hand to stop a dangerous ball, which Salomón Rondón almost put into the net.
Mbappé, who had scored a hat-trick in the 2022 World Cup final that was lost to Argentina’s Lionel Messi in the same Lusail stadium, left the pitch in the 62nd minute on the decision of Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, who lifted his 15th title with the club—one more than the legendary Miguel Muñoz.
When it seemed like the players of Uruguayan Guillermo Almada had gained some initiative, Oussama Idrissi fouled Lucas Vázquez inside the area, and the penalty was reviewed via VAR.
Vinicius converted the spot-kick in the 84th minute with a low, powerful shot that Moreno touched but could not save.
The newly named FIFA Player of the Year had another chance to score, while Ángel Mena managed to head the ball into the net before the 90-minute mark, but his goal was ruled offside.
Central America
Amnesty International condemns Nicaragua’s unprecedented repression of dissent
On Tuesday, Amnesty International (AI) stated that no one in Nicaragua is safe from the “repressive model” imposed by the government of Daniel Ortega, which threatens human rights in an “unprecedented” manner.
“Nicaragua’s repression leaves no one safe,” said Ana Piquer, AI’s Americas director, in a statement.
“From indigenous leaders, journalists, human rights defenders, and anyone seen as a risk to the government’s policies, the authorities continue to solidify the climate of fear in which dissent is punished with imprisonment, exile, or disappearance,” she added.
Since the anti-government protests in 2018, which Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, consider an attempted coup promoted by the United States, hundreds of people have been “unjustly imprisoned” and many have been forced into exile, according to AI.
At least 300 people died in the protests, according to the United Nations.
The human rights organization urged Ortega’s government to “immediately halt all repressive practices,” ensure human rights, and end the “criminalization of dissent.”
Recently, the NGO Colectivo Nicaragua Nunca Más reported over 2,000 arbitrary arrests and at least 229 cases of torture of detainees since 2018.
Additionally, Amnesty labeled imprisoned Miskito indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera as a “prisoner of conscience” and demanded his release along with dozens of other detainees.
The Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners in Nicaragua currently lists 45 people detained for political reasons in the country.
Since February 2023, Ortega’s government has stripped about 450 politicians, businessmen, journalists, intellectuals, human rights activists, and religious figures of their Nicaraguan nationality after they were exiled or expelled from the country.
Amnesty demanded “an end to the practice of arbitrary deprivation of nationality, as well as the full restoration of the rights of those deprived of it,” and urged the international community not to remain “indifferent” to the situation in Nicaragua.
Ortega, a 79-year-old former guerrilla fighter who ruled Nicaragua in the 1980s and has been in power again since 2007, enacted a broad constitutional reform in November that stipulates that “traitors to the homeland” lose their Nicaraguan nationality, a charge leveled against most of the exiled individuals.
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