Source: BBC News [UK state media]
“US officials have secured the release of 135 political prisoners from Nicaragua on humanitarian grounds. All 135 are Nicaraguan citizens who were unjustly detained, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement. Those released were taken to Guatemala, where they arrived on Thursday morning local time, and will be given the chance to apply to move to the US. The Nicaraguan government led by President Daniel Ortega has jailed hundreds of people since mass protests broke out against his rule in 2018. The United Nations human rights office (OHCHR) published a report on Tuesday documenting the deterioration in Nicaragua’s human rights situation in the past year. It described a dozen cases in which detainees were tortured through various forms of sexual abuse and electric shocks.” (09/05/24)