Nicaragua’s political crisis intensifies with arrest of opponents to ruling party

By Jorge Antonio Rocha

METEPEC, Mexico (AA) - The administration of Daniel Ortega has imprisoned two presidential candidates in the last 24 hours, alongside opposition leaders, who have campaigned against his regime.

Juan Sebastian Chamorro, an opposition candidate in the Nov. 7 presidential elections, was detained and apprehended for "treason” on Tuesday.

The businessman presides over the Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic Development and leads the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy, a civilian-based front opposing the ruling party.

Presidential candidate Felix Maradiaga was arrested on similar charges outside prosecution offices.

Jose Adan Aguerri and Violeta Granera were arrested under similar circumstances, also on Tuesday. Authorities said the opposition leaders were arrested for undermining and threaten Nicaraguan sovereignty and independence.

Aguerri, who urged Ortega to step down, claiming, "We need an early exit from the government as soon as possible," is the former head of the Superior Council for Private Enterprise.

The arrests follow a series of detentions against Ortega's primary political opponents with most charged with breaking the same law.

Presidential candidate Arturo Cruz Sequeira, son of Arturo Cruz Porras, counterrevolutionary against the Sandinista National Liberation Front in the 1980s, was also apprehended.

In December 2020, Congress passed a law that some have called an authoritarian effort to repel all forms of opposition to Ortega’s rule.

The law, which labels all protests and those who try to promote demonstrations as "traitors," disqualifies culprits from participating in elections.

Journalist and presidential candidate Cristiana Chamorro, who is under house arrest for money laundering, was the first political prisoner of the Ortega regime.

Chamorro is the daughter of former President Violeta Chamorro, who beat the National Sandinista Liberation Front in elections during the 1990s.