Nicaraguan police arrest another hope for opposition presidency Nicaraguan News
[ad_1]
The arrest of Arturo Cruz by opposition presidential candidate Cristiana Chamorro has come three days after the house was established.
In Nicaragua, police have arrested opposition politician Arturo Cruz, withheld a second presidential term in less than a week, and intensified the fight ahead of the November election in which President Daniel Ortega wants to hold power.
Cruz, an academic who was Nicaraguan ambassador from 2007 to 2009, was arrested at Managua airport on Saturday when he arrived from Washington to DC, according to his aides.
The prosecutor’s office said in a statement that the national police were investigating Cruz “based on strong evidence that he attacked Nicaraguan society.”
He did not provide details of the charges against the 67-year-old man, nor whether he will be arrested or detained.
Cruz’s arrest was also a character of the opposition Cristiana Chamorro – who could have been a challenge to Ortega in the last election – after the government said she was guilty of money laundering when she was placed under house arrest.
Cruz, a former ally of Ortega, is a candidate for the Alianza Ciudadana or Citizens ’Alliance, a coalition of right-wing parties backed by prominent businessmen, for the November presidential election.
The Ortega government has said the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights is a “cunning strategy” to silence people who see Ortega’s government as a political enemy.
“They are not criminal investigations, this is political persecution,” he said.
The USA Cruz has called for “immediate release”.
“The international community has spoken out: under Ortega’s command, Nicaragua is becoming an international pariah and moving away from democracy,” said Julie Chung, undersecretary of the U.S. Department of State’s Western Hemisphere Affairs Office.
The Organization of American States called on the Nicaraguan authorities to release Cruz.
“It is unacceptable to manipulate security forces and the judiciary into imprisoning opposition candidates … these actions are against free and fair elections,” OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro said on Twitter.
Ortega, a former guerrilla who ruled from 1979 to 1990, returned to power in 2007 and renewed two elections in a row. The 75-year-old plans to be re-elected in November for a third consecutive term.
International organizations, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, have accused the Ortega government of making false allegations against opponents.
The electoral body has already eliminated two opposition parties.
[ad_2]
Source link