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Nicaragua's crackdown on Catholic Church spreads fear among the faithful, there and in exile
Read full article: Nicaragua's crackdown on Catholic Church spreads fear among the faithful, there and in exileNineteen priests kicked out of the country, dozens of incidents of harassment and church desecrations, rural areas lacking worship and social services.
Police charge director of Miss Nicaragua pageant with running 'beauty queen coup' plot
Read full article: Police charge director of Miss Nicaragua pageant with running 'beauty queen coup' plotNicaraguan police say they want to arrest the director of the Miss Nicaragua pageant, accusing her of intentionally rigging contests so that anti-government beauty queens would win the pageants as part of a plot to overthrow the government.
Nicaragua’s Miss Universe title win exposes deep political divide in the Central American country
Read full article: Nicaragua’s Miss Universe title win exposes deep political divide in the Central American countryNicaragua’s increasingly isolated and repressive government thought it had scored a rare public relations victory last week when Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios won the Miss Universe competition.
Nicaraguan government seizes highly regarded university from Jesuits
Read full article: Nicaraguan government seizes highly regarded university from JesuitsThe Jesuits say Nicaragua's government has confiscated the University of Central America in Nicaragua, which is one of the region’s most highly regarded colleges.
In Nicaragua, Holy Week celebrations limited by government
Read full article: In Nicaragua, Holy Week celebrations limited by governmentRoman Catholics in Nicaragua have had to hold traditional “Stations of the Cross” and other Holy Week processions on church grounds or inside the churches amid a ban on public demonstrations.
Nicaraguan bishop who refused exile gets 26 years in prison
Read full article: Nicaraguan bishop who refused exile gets 26 years in prisonRoman Catholic Bishop Rolando Álvarez, an outspoken critic of Nicaragua’s government, has been sentenced to 26 years in prison and stripped of his Nicaraguan citizenship, the latest move by President Daniel Ortega against the Catholic church and his opponents.
Biden targets Nicaragua's gold in new move against Ortega
Read full article: Biden targets Nicaragua's gold in new move against OrtegaThe Biden administration is ratcheting up pressure on President Daniel Ortega’s authoritarian rule in Nicaragua, banning Americans from doing business in the nation’s gold industry, threatening trade restrictions and stripping the U.S. visas of some 500 government insiders.
Concern that Nicaragua repression could be "model" in region
Read full article: Concern that Nicaragua repression could be "model" in regionNicaragua President Daniel Ortega’s government has closed seven radio stations this week owned by the Roman Catholic church, as well as two other outlets serving the largely rural northern area with a history of opposition.
US sanctions Nicaraguan gold mining firm over ties to Russia
Read full article: US sanctions Nicaraguan gold mining firm over ties to RussiaThe U.S. has imposed sanctions on Nicaragua’s state-owned gold mining company and the president of its board of directors partly over the Central American nation’s ties to Russia.
Nicaragua authorizes entry of Russian troops, planes, ships
Read full article: Nicaragua authorizes entry of Russian troops, planes, shipsThe government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has authorized Russian troops, planes and ships to deploy to Nicaragua for purposes of training, law enforcement or emergency response.
Nicaragua government laying waste to civil society
Read full article: Nicaragua government laying waste to civil societyNicaragua’s Sandinista-controlled congress has cancelled nearly 200 nongovernmental organizations this week, ranging from a local equestrian group to the 94-year-old Nicaraguan Academy of Letters, in what critics say is President Daniel Ortega’s attempt to eliminate the country’s civil society.
Nicaragua tightens grip on universities to stifle dissent
Read full article: Nicaragua tightens grip on universities to stifle dissentFour years after university students led protests against Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega’s government, his administration is minimizing the chance of a reoccurrence by seizing a dozen private universities and closing them or shifting control to the state.
Nicaragua's Ortega decries foes who question his re-election
Read full article: Nicaragua's Ortega decries foes who question his re-electionA day after questioned elections, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s government has set about painting as a historic democratic victory what many of the world’s democracies condemned as a sham.
Nicaragua's Ortega seeks re-election in questioned vote
Read full article: Nicaragua's Ortega seeks re-election in questioned voteNicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is seeking a fourth consecutive term as voting begins in elections against a field of little-known candidates while those who could have given him a real challenge sit in jail.
Nicaraguans will head to the polls Sunday, in what the international community is calling a ‘sham’ election
Read full article: Nicaraguans will head to the polls Sunday, in what the international community is calling a ‘sham’ electionOn Sunday millions of Nicaraguans will head to the polls in what the international community is calling a "sham" election, following several arrests of potential political opponents, carried out by longtime President Daniel Ortega's government.
EU slaps sanctions on Nicaraguan first lady, 7 others
Read full article: EU slaps sanctions on Nicaraguan first lady, 7 othersThe European Union is slapping sanctions on Nicaraguan first lady and Vice-President Rosario Murillo and seven other senior officials accused of serious human rights violations or undermining democracy.
Nicaragua creates Ministry of Extraterrestrial Space Affairs
Read full article: Nicaragua creates Ministry of Extraterrestrial Space AffairsFILE - In this Sept. 5, 2018 file photo, Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega and his wife and Vice President Rosario Murillo, lead a rally in Managua, Nicaragua. The Central American country has created a National Ministry for Extraterrestrial Space Affairs, The Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga, File)MANAGUA – Nicaragua has created a new National Ministry for Extraterrestrial Space Affairs, The Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, which is drawing amused reactions on social media in a nation that has been struggling since anti-government protests three years ago. The agency was approved by 76 legislators Wednesday in the country’s congress, which is dominated by President Daniel Ortega’s Sandinista Party. Critics said the country does not have the money to spare for dreams of space exploration.
Nicaragua essentially bans opposition from 2021 elections
Read full article: Nicaragua essentially bans opposition from 2021 electionsFILE - In this May 26, 2018 file photo, the Spanish word for "Murderer" covers a mural of Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega, as part of anti-government protests demanding his resignation in Managua, Nicaragua. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix, File)MANAGUA – Nicaragua’s ruling party-dominated Congress passed a law Monday that would essentially ban opposition candidates from running in the 2021 presidential elections. The elections are scheduled for Nov. 7, 2021, and despite term limits — which Ortega has already exceeded — the 75-year-old leader is expected to run again. Nicaragua’s two main opposition groups had announced earlier this year that they will form a coalition to compete in the 2021 race. The U.S. government says it is pressing Ortega to hold free and fair elections and respect basic rights.
Iota's devastation comes into focus in storm-weary Nicaragua
Read full article: Iota's devastation comes into focus in storm-weary NicaraguaMen wade through a street flooded after the passing of Hurricane Iota in La Lima, Honduras, Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020. Rescuers searched at the site of a landslide in northern Nicaragua, where the local government confirmed four deaths and neighbors spoke of at least 16. Iota arrived Monday evening with winds of 155 mph (250 kph), hitting nearly the same location as Hurricane Eta two weeks earlier. The hurricane season officially ends Nov. 30. ___Associated Press writers Christopher Sherman in Mexico City, Marlon González in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Manuel Rueda in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report.
Hurricane Iota roars onto Nicaragua as 2nd blow in 2 weeks
Read full article: Hurricane Iota roars onto Nicaragua as 2nd blow in 2 weeksA fallen tree lies on the road after the passage of Hurricane Iota in Siuna, Nicaragua, Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2020. Hurricane Iota tore across Nicaragua on Tuesday, hours after roaring ashore as a Category 4 storm along almost exactly the same stretch of the Caribbean coast that was recently devastated by an equally powerful hurricane. By Tuesday night, Iota had diminished to a tropical storm and was moving inland over northern Nicaragua and southern Honduras. Even before Iota hit Nicaragua, it scraped over the tiny Colombian island of Providencia, more than 155 miles (250 kilometers) off Nicaragua's coast. Iota developed later in the season than any other Category 5 storm on record, beating a Nov. 8, 1932, Cuba hurricane, said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
Weakened Eta drenches Central America; at least 57 dead
Read full article: Weakened Eta drenches Central America; at least 57 deadA pregnant woman is carried out of an area flooded by water brought by Hurricane Eta in Planeta, Honduras, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2020. (AP Photo/Delmer Martinez)TEGUCIGALPA – The rain-heavy remnants of Hurricane Eta flooded homes from Panama to Guatemala Thursday as the death toll across Central America rose to at least 57, and aid organizations warned the flooding and mudslides were creating a slow-moving humanitarian disaster across the region. Eta had sustained winds of 35 mph (55 kph) and was moving north at 8 mph (13 kph) Thursday. When what’s left of the storm wobbles back into the Caribbean it will regain some strength and become a tropical storm again, forecasts show. “Whatever comes out (of Central America) is going to linger awhile,” said Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach.
Eta brings heavy rains, deadly mudslides to Honduras
Read full article: Eta brings heavy rains, deadly mudslides to Honduras(AP Photo/Delmer Martinez)MANAGUA – Eta moved into Honduras on Wednesday as a weakened tropical depression but still bringing the heavy rains that have drenched and caused deadly landslides in the country's east and in northern Nicaragua. Before the center of Eta had even reached Honduras, hundreds of people had been forced from their homes by floodwaters. Eta left a path of destruction across northern Nicaragua starting with the coastal city of Bilwi. Northern Nicaragua is home to most of the country’s production of coffee, a critical export. In the Pacific, Tropical Storm Odalys continued to move across the open ocean and posed no threat to land.
Hurricane Eta grinds inland into Nicaragua; at least 3 dead
Read full article: Hurricane Eta grinds inland into Nicaragua; at least 3 deadMANAGUA – Hurricane Eta churned inland through northeast Nicaragua Tuesday night with devastating winds and rains that destroyed rooftops, caused rivers to overflow and left at least three people dead in the region. The hurricane had sustained winds of 105 mph (165 kph), according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, down from an overnight peak of 150 mph (240 kph). Even before it made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane, Honduras reported the first death after a mudslide trapped a 12-year-old girl in San Pedro Sula and two miners were killed in a mudslide in Bonanza, Nicaragua. Eta tripled in strength in about 24 hours, rapidly intensifying from a 40 mph (65 kph) storm Sunday morning to a 120 mph (190 kph) hurricane around midday Monday, and continuing to gain power throughout the day. Hurricane season still has a month to go, ending Nov. 30.
US slaps sanctions on more top Nicaraguan officials
Read full article: US slaps sanctions on more top Nicaraguan officialsMANAGUA – The U.S. Treasury Department slapped sanctions Friday on Nicaragua’s attorney general, the U.S.-born private secretary to President Daniel Ortega and a savings-and-loan business. The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control said the sanction decision “targets corrupt financial operations and Ortega regime supporters.” The move blocks the U.S. assets of the officials and prohibits U.S. citizens from dealing with them. The office said she formed a group of prosecutors who worked with police ”to fabricate cases against political prisoners and their families." The sanctions also hit Secretary of the Presidency Paul Herbert Oquist Kelley. The U.S. has also slapped sanctions on Gen. Julio Avilés, the head of Nicaragua’s army, Treasury Minister Iván Acosta and the country's National Police.
During pandemic, Nicaraguan doctors face political pressure
Read full article: During pandemic, Nicaraguan doctors face political pressureMANAGUA Inside Nicaragua's public hospitals, the walls are plastered with political propaganda, ruling-party activists ensure no information leaks out, and doctors were once forbidden from wearing masks. The government did not respond to a request for comment on the doctors' dismissals and the allegations of repression. Doctors have confirmed the relatives' suspicions, saying hospital administrators order virus deaths be categorized otherwise to keep official numbers low. The result has been dozens of sickened medical workers and more than 70 deaths, according to a count kept by the Medical Associations of Nicaragua. He had been voluntarily treating COVID-19 patients who were turned away from hospitals in Len and Chinandega, in western Nicaragua.
Edn Pastora, Nicarguan revolutionary, dead at 83
Read full article: Edn Pastora, Nicarguan revolutionary, dead at 83Pastora, one of the most mercurial, charismatic figures of Central Americas revolutionary upheavals, has died. His son Alvaro Pastora said Tuesday, June 16, 2020 that he died at Managuas Military Hospital of respiratory failure. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo, File)MANAGUA One of the most mercurial, charismatic figures of Central America's revolutionary upheavals, Edn Pastora, died early Tuesday. Edn Atanacio Pastora Gmez was born Nov. 15, 1936, in Ciudad Daro, Nicaragua. After the protests, as rumors swirled about Ortegas health, Pastora told the press that he had recommended that the Sandinista National Liberation Front choose a successor.