US secures release of 135 political prisoners from Nicaragua
Al Jazeera
The released group includes student and religious leaders who were arrested as part of government crackdown under President Daniel Ortega.
The United States has secured the release of 135 political prisoners held in Nicaragua, including students and members of a faith organisation.
In a statement on Thursday, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the prisoners were among the thousands of Nicaraguans caught up in a multiyear rights crackdown by the government of President Daniel Ortega.
The prisoners were sent to neighbouring Guatemala and could relocate from there to the US, according to Sullivan.
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo’s office confirmed a plane carrying formerly detained Nicaraguans had landed in the country early on Thursday.
“No one should be put in jail for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights of free expression, association, and practicing their religion,” Sullivan said in a statement.
