Nicaraguan government pursues NGO in widening crackdown

Nicaraguan authorities have ordered the capture of a former education minister and a businessman as the government’s crackdown continued to expand beyond leaders of the political opposition

MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- Nicaraguan authorities ordered the capture of a former education minister and a businessman Thursday as the government's crackdown continued to expand beyond leaders of the political opposition. The Attorney General's Office said in a statement that arrest orders were issued for Humberto Belli, who served in the administration of former President Violeta Chamorro, and Gerardo Baltodano, owner of Café Soluble, for not appearing to provide statements as scheduled. Baltodano is the brother of retired Gen. Alvaro Baltodano, who served in President Daniel Ortega's government as the director for the Free Trade Zone Corporation. Belli is the brother of well-known poet and novelist Gioconda Belli. Both Belli and Baltodano had served on the board of the nongovernmental Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic and Social Development, or FUNIDES, which is under investigation. The foundation's former executive director Juan Sebastián Chamorro was arrested earlier this month on charges of crimes against the state.