The former Nicaraguan lawyer left the country and went to the United States the day before his resignation

He was one of Daniel Ortega's most trusted officials, but new details regarding his resignation inform his decision. Hernán Estrada, former Attorney General of NicaraguaHe left his job last week, but before leaving, he was already on US soil.

Estrada alleged "health reasons" to finish 12 years with the Sandinista leader, who accepted the resignation and thanked him for his "dedicated work", according to a presidential statement. This is a new high-profile victim in the circle of relatives of Ortega since the beginning of the anti-government protests in April 2018, whose repression plunged Nicaragua into a serious crisis.

According to the newspaper The press, Estrada Santamaría left the country on Tuesday 7 before the announcement of his resignation, on board a flight to Miami. At the time of migration processing, he did not appear as a civil servant, but as a lawyer in his private study.

The opposition and former Sandinista guerilla Dora Maria Téllez highlighted "Estrada belongs to the circle of trust closest to Daniel Ortega"As a prosecutor", he was responsible for legalizing many transactions involving state-owned property and individuals in order to further the interests of the Ortega economic group, said his wife, the Vice President Rosario Murillo.

Tellez doubted that Estrada had resigned due to health problems, saying that with his departure "it is clear that the Ortega-Murillo are no longer able to convince their most loyal people capable of solving the crisis"

Estrada is the third top official to step down in the midst of the Ortega crisis since protests against his government began a year ago. The crackdown has left at least 325 dead, hundreds of detainees and thousands of exiles.

In January last year, the magistrate of the highest court, Rafael Solís, one of the leading advisers of Ortega and militant of the Sandinista Front, resigned before exiling himself in Costa Rica, criticizing the "terror" imposed by Ortega. the country to control the demonstrations. In January, the resignation of the former bank superintendent, Víctor Arguyo, was also known.

(With information from AFP)