The United States announced on Thursday (5) that it had secured the release of 135 political prisoners held in Nicaragua, who, according to the White House, will be received in Guatemala.
“The United States is grateful for the leadership and generosity of the Guatemalan government in graciously accepting these Nicaraguan nationals. Once in Guatemala, these individuals will be offered the opportunity to seek legal means to rebuild their lives in the United States or other countries,” said Presidential National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
In the official statement, Sullivan further stated that no one should be arrested for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of expression, association and religious practice.
Among the 135 people freed are 13 members of the Texas-based NGO Mountain Gateway, as well as lay Catholics, students and others who Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega and his wife, vice president Rosario Murillo, “consider a threat to their authoritarian rule,” according to the Biden administration.
Biden and his No. 2 Democratic candidate in the November 5 election, Kamala Harris, thanked Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo de León for “his continued leadership across the region in addressing humanitarian issues and defending democratic freedom.”
“The United States again asks the government [regime] of Nicaragua to immediately cease the arbitrary arrest and detention of its citizens for the simple exercise of their fundamental freedoms,” added Sullivan, according to whom the release of these 135 people occurred “for humanitarian reasons.”
In February 2023, the Ortega dictatorship released 222 political prisoners and expelled them from the country. On that occasion, after their release, they were taken to Managua’s international airport to board a plane to Washington.
#announces #release #political #prisoners #Nicaragua
