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At least 60 people have been arrested in Nicaragua for allegedly celebrating or expressing support for the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, reported human rights organizations and independent media.
Nicaraguan authorities have detained dozens of citizens for expressing support for the U.S. military operation on January 3, which culminated in the capture of Maduro in Caracas and his transfer to New York to face charges of drug trafficking and arms trafficking.
The information was confirmed by the NGO Blue and White Monitoring and by local media, which describe a crackdown based solely on the expression of opinions, reported a dispatch from the agency AFP reproduced by the British newspaper The Guardian.
According to the organization, since the capture of Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, there have been “at least 60 arbitrary arrests.” Of that total, 49 people remained detained on Friday without information about their legal status, while nine were released and three were held temporarily.
The group reported that the arrests were made without a judicial order and were based on comments made on social media, private celebrations, or the refusal to repeat official propaganda.
The Nicaraguan newspaper Confidencial, published from exile, reported that the arrests occurred under a "state of alert" ordered by Rosario Murillo, the vice president and wife of Daniel Ortega, which included surveillance in neighborhoods and monitoring of social media.
For its part, the newspaper La Prensa stated that several arrests were motivated by posts "in favor" of the U.S. operation against Maduro.
The new wave of repression occurs in a context of high regional tension and a close political alliance between the Ortega-Murillo regime and chavismo.
One day before the arrests were announced, U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he had canceled a second phase of attacks against Venezuela, citing cooperation from Caracas in oil matters and the release of political prisoners, although he kept the naval fleet deployed in the Caribbean.
At the same time, the Government of Nicaragua announced this Saturday the release of "dozens of political prisoners" to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the regime.
Local media estimate that up to 30 people were released, including former mayor Óscar Gadea and several opposition members and religious leaders.
However, independent organizations and the U.S. embassy in Managua warned that more than 60 people remain detained or missing, including pastors, the sick, and the elderly, and emphasized that “peace is only possible with freedom.”
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