Regional human rights body condemns Nicaragua crackdown

The president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights says that Nicaragua has entered a new phase of repression with at least 20 opposition figures arrested in recent weeks and “constant human rights violations.”

MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- The president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights said Wednesday that Nicaragua had entered a new phase of repression with at least 20 opposition figures arrested in recent weeks and “constant human rights violations.” Antonia Urrejola told members of the Organization of American States’ Permanent Council that the crackdown appeared to be part of a government strategy to snuff out internal dissidence ahead of the Nov. 7 elections, in which President Daniel Ortega will seek a fourth consecutive term. An extended “de facto state of exception” in Nicaragua has “intensified the closure of democratic spaces,” she said. In the past month, the regional human rights body has received 27 requests for protective measures for people persecuted or threatened in Nicaragua, virtually the same number as in all of 2020.