US restricts more visas for Nicaraguans close to government

MANAGUA – The United States has slapped visa restrictions connected 50 contiguous household members of Nicaraguan officials who person been progressive successful oregon benefited from President Daniel Ortega’s increasing repression, the U.S. State Department said Friday.

The officials see lawmakers, prosecutors and judges. Over the past 2 months, Ortega’s authorities has arrested astir 3 twelve absorption figures, including 7 imaginable challengers for the presidency.

Nicaragua is scheduled to clasp nationalist elections Nov. 7. Ortega is seeking a 4th consecutive word and this week the authorities placed an absorption vice statesmanlike campaigner nether location arrest.

“Ortega and (Vice President and archetypal woman Rosario) Murillo erstwhile again demonstrated that they are acrophobic of moving against anyone who they consciousness mightiness triumph the enactment of the Nicaraguan people,” the U.S. State Department said successful a statement.

Among those arrested successful caller weeks was erstwhile Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Francisco Aguirre Sacasa. The 76-year-old was arrested aft borderline constabulary stopped him from leaving Nicaragua to participate Costa Rica. He had planned to alert to Houston for backmost surgery, 2 of his children said Friday.

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Since his July 27 arrest, the household has received nary accusation astir his whereabout oregon condition.

“There are nary details, determination is nary information, we cognize perfectly nothing,” said Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, 1 of the erstwhile diplomat’s sons.

“The lawyer says helium can’t bash thing due to the fact that the lawsuit doesn’t exist,” said Georgie Aguirre Sacasa, the ex-diplomat’s daughter.

They said their parent visits the Managua situation known arsenic El Chipote each day, due to the fact that they fishy helium is there, but his sanction does not look connected the database of prisoners. She takes food, h2o and medicine, but the guards lone sometimes instrumentality the h2o without ever confirming if helium is there.

Aguirre Sacasa was arrested by constabulary connected the road backmost to Managua from the Costa Rican borderline wherever guards had confiscated his passport. When his woman arrived astatine their location she recovered constabulary searching it. They seized computers and documents from Aguirre Sacasa’s location office.

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Nicaraguan authorities released a connection aft the apprehension saying helium would beryllium held for 90 days arsenic an probe proceeded into allegations that helium had committed crimes against Nicaraguan society.

“They accidental they are pursuing the law, but if that were existent helium would beryllium connected the database of prisoners, helium could speech to us, they could sojourn him,” Georgie Aguirre Sacasa said. “But nary of those quality rights is being respected successful Nicaragua.”

The State Department announcement of visa sanctions against 50 Nicaraguans Friday follows akin actions taken against 100 others connected July 12. The U.S. said they were “believed to beryllium liable for, oregon complicit in, undermining democracy, including those with work for, oregon complicity in, the suppression of peaceful protests oregon maltreatment of quality rights, and the contiguous household members of specified persons.”

The Nicaraguan authorities did not instantly remark connected the caller restrictions. In the past, Ortega and Murillo person maintained that wide protests that began successful April 2018 were an attempted coup with overseas backing.

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Also Friday, Marcos Carmona, a lawyer and enforcement caput of the nongovernmental Permanent Commission connected Human Rights, said successful a quality league that constabulary had stopped him from boarding a formation to Miami and taken his passport.

“This is different maltreatment by this authorities that is violating my law rights and protections,” Carmona said. He said helium was trying to question for aesculapian attraction and to sojourn relatives.

On July 29, constabulary arrested María Oviedo, a lawyer with the commission. She remains jailed and is being investigated for alleged crimes against the state.

Carmona did not regularisation retired that helium excessively could beryllium astatine hazard of arrest.

“We are each exposed here,” helium said.

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AP writer Gisela Salomon successful Miami contributed to this report.

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