Ortega forces attack a church, refuge of opponents and kill two students – 07/14/2018

The government of Daniel Ortega realized this Friday one of the most brutal operations against the popular rebellion against the students. Paramilitary groups dismantled the stronghold the youths had on the UNAN campus in Managua, and forced them to take refuge in a nearby church where they then attacked with heavy weapons, killing two protesters [19659002Theyreceivedbulletsintheheadwhichreinforcestheversionthatthegovernmentusesofsniperstobadbadinatetheleadersoftherevolt

The cruelty of the operation, coordinated by the police chiefs, was shaped by independent TV channels and transmitted by the students themselves through social networks. Three local journalists and one international – from the Washington Post – had also been locked up, making parish transmissions with the help of Facebook Live

It all started Friday afternoon during the general strike unleashed by the 39; opposition. While Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, made official speeches calling for dialogue and peace, paramilitary groups and police attacked the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua (UNAN) , taken by the students since the beginning of the demonstrations.

Prior to the police deployment, about 200 youths retreated and eventually took refuge in the Church of Jesus Divine Mercy, a few meters away. However, government shock groups continued to shoot at them. The protesters endured about 16 hours in the police headquarters. During the early hours, the authorities cut electricity in the area, which increased fear in the parish.

One of the fatal victims was identified by Gerald Vásquez, a 20-year-old construction engineering student at the State University. The second is only known that his name is Francisco. The first was killed inside the parish, while the second was on the barricade. According to the protesters, both were shot by precise blows in the head. There were also several wounded by bullet.

Before the dramatic situation, thousands of Nicaraguans began demonstrating in front of the church to protect them and demand that the government stop the killings and let them go. You could see people of all ages and many priests.

Finally, Saturday morning and after the mediation of the episcopate, the students were able to leave the parish. They did it in vehicles, trucks and a microphone provided by the Nicaraguan Red Cross, and escorted by bishops to avoid being attacked again. They took them to the Metropolitan Cathedral where their parents received them.

As the caravan pbaded by, hundreds of people on the road waved Nicaraguan flags and shouted "Long live the students" and "Justice". Motorists continued to ring their horns. The youth responded with fists raised.

Upon arriving at the Cathedral, they were greeted by a host of journalists, human rights activists and human rights representatives from the United Nations and the Organization of American States. It was a very special moment because people were singing protest songs, as "the united people will never be defeated". Her family hugged them between scenes of tears and emotion.

"I thought I was going to die, I apologized to my parents, I only went out to defend my homeland, I love my country," sobbed one of the young people of the cathedral Another, at his side, argued that "we must continue to pressure the government to understand that the people do not want it anymore."

UNAN, where the boys remained nearly three months on the barricades, was the last bastion of student resistance, spearheaded by a civil society movement that demands the departure of President Ortega, whom they accuse of the brutal repression that has already left more than 350 dead, the vast majority of them being young academics.

Friday there was also a strong crackdown in the city of Masaya, 28 km from Managua, another bastion of popular protest, two civilians and a policeman were killed

Histori However, many students have supported the government, but many of these same students are now asking Ortega to leave, irritated by the violence exerted against protesters by the police and gangs. Juventud Sandinista, who attacks the demonstrations in order to intimidate and divide them.

The mbad demonstrations against Ortega began three months ago and have never stopped. The trigger was a failed pension reform, but the discomfort came long after authoritarianism, the concentration of power and corruption that have been exercised in recent years by Ortega and his wife.