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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
A magnitude 6 earthquake shakes the province of Esmeraldas in Ecuador, bordering Colombia
Preparations for Pope Francis’ funeral, in figures
“A dignified life” for migrants, the plea in Panama in memory of Pope Francis
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
Defense Minister commends salvadoran soldier for Central American Cross Country victory
Extension of the state of emergency approved in southern Chile
-
Central America4 days agoCardinal Rodríguez to Attend Funeral of Pope Francis: “He Was Very Dear to Me”
-
Central America4 days agoNicaragua’s Ortega and Murillo Mourn Pope Francis, Acknowledge ‘Difficult’ Relationship
-
International4 days agoDominican Republic Declares Three Days of Mourning for Pope Francis
-
International4 days agoDHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s Purse Stolen in D.C. Restaurant Heist
-
International4 days agoPope Francis and Trump, a relationship of disagreements marked by migration
-
International3 days agoFrom the transfer of the coffin to the funeral, three days to say goodbye to Pope Francis
-
International4 days agoWithin Francis’ private wake: respect and prayer for the deceased pope
-
International4 days agoPope Francis: The Quiet Architect Behind the U.S.-Cuba Thaw
-
International4 days agoTrump’s emissary will visit Russia this week for consultations on the arrangement in Ukraine
-
International3 days agoA very heterogeneous and divided conclave will elect the new pope
-
International3 days agoModi returns to India and shortens his visit to Saudi Arabia after a deadly attack in Kashmir
-
International4 days agoThe pope last called the Gaza parish on Saturday and asked about the children
-
International4 days agoCardinal Becciu’s enigma: will he enter the conclave?
-
International4 days agoA candidate for the Supreme Court denounces an unequal dispute in the judicial election of Mexico
-
International4 days agoAmerican universities and colleges sign a letter against Trump’s policy
-
International4 days agoThe Government of Colombia presents twelve questions that it will propose in a popular consultation to promote its reforms
-
International4 days agoBurma’s military junta extends ceasefire until April 30 due to the earthquake
-
International3 days agoEl Salvador formalizes the proposal for the exchange of Venezuelan deportees, according to Bukele
-
International3 days agoThe Peruvian Public Ministry denounces the former attorney general for an alleged corruption case
-
International11 hours ago“A dignified life” for migrants, the plea in Panama in memory of Pope Francis
-
International1 day agoThe Arab League supports Hamas handing over control of Gaza and weapons to the Palestinian Authority
-
International1 day agoThe Pope’s funeral procession through the center of Rome worries the Italian authorities
-
International4 days agoRoyal quinoa, the superfood that grows in front of the largest salt flat in the world in Bolivia
-
International3 days agoMaradona’s house arrest is again a focus of tension in the trial for his death
-
International3 days agoA judge orders the Trump Government to restore Voice of America services
-
International3 days agoDonald Trump will visit Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates in mid-May
-
International4 days agoInternational leaders begin to confirm their presence at Pope Francis’ funeral
-
International4 days agoChurch charges ceased or resigned in the papacy of Francis for cases of pedophilia
-
International3 days agoThe president of the World Bank underlines his intention to lift his veto on nuclear energy
-
International11 hours agoA Russian general dies in the explosion of a car bomb near Moscow
-
International1 day agoMigrants want to stay on Mexico’s southern border because of Sheinbaum’s industrial plan
-
International1 day agoA group of the poor and a delegation of migrants will participate in the funeral and burial of the pope on Saturday
-
International3 days agoMarco Rubio reorganizes the State Department to eliminate offices and jobs
-
International3 days agoThe Brazilian Supreme Court opens trial against six others accused of leading the coup attempt
-
International1 day agoThe pope’s doctor reveals his last moments of life and that he wanted to “die at home”
-
International1 day agoFrom email to marriage: the day Pope Francis married a Uruguayan couple
-
International11 hours agoA magnitude 6 earthquake shakes the province of Esmeraldas in Ecuador, bordering Colombia
-
International3 days agoA judge in the United States stops the deportation to El Salvador of a hundred Venezuelans
-
International11 hours agoPope Francis’ funeral procession will be a six-kilometer journey through the heart of Rome
-
International11 hours agoPutin and Witkoff address possible direct negotiations between Russia and Ukraine