The United States prepares sanctions against the regime of Daniel Ortega after the arrest and disqualification of the opposition Cristiana Chamorro

The United States government provide for sanctions against the regime of Daniel Ortega after the arrest and disqualification of the opposition Christian Chamorro, who remains under house arrest and protected by the police.

Joe Biden’s administration plans to implement a law passed by Congress in 2018 known as Nica Law, which allows the sanctioning of officials and former officials of Nicaragua. It was said this Friday Juan González, Director of Continental Affairs of the National Security Council, in dialogue with Voice of America.

Prior to González’s remarks, the State Department urged the Ortega regime to release Chamorro. In a statement, he said his arrest “it is an abuse of their rights and represents an attack on democratic values, as well as a clear attempt to thwart free and fair elections”.

“Ms. Chamorro’s arrest comes in the middle of relentless attacks on pro-democracy presidential candidates and independent media. The Ortega regime is committed to prevent Ms. Chamorro from participating in the November elections and, in May, unfounded annulled the legal status of two opposition political partiesAdded the statement.

In this sense, he stressed that “Instead of implementing electoral reforms within the deadline set by the Organization of American States, President Ortega instituted new restrictions and reduced electoral transparency”.

“The current conditions of repression and exclusion are not compatible with credible elections. The region and the international community must stand with the Nicaraguan people to defend their right to freely choose their government», Concluded the department in charge of Antony Blinken.

International pressure is increasing

The pressure to release the opposition increased this Friday with statements by Spain and France – in addition to the United States – while in Managua, a judge authorized the national police to extract all information from the electronic devices of the presidential candidate, who is being held at her home and under heavy police surveillance.

The judge Karen Chavarria Morales, head of the ninth district of criminal hearings in Managua, who issued the search and arrest warrant against Chamorro on Wednesday, authorized the National Police to extract all information from the opposition leader’s electronic devices.

The judge allowed the police to call a computer specialist to extract all information from cellphones, tablets and computers, including emails, images, videos, text messages, audio via WhatsApp, among others, sources close to the case informed the press.

Chamorro, daughter of former President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (1990-1997), who defeated current President Daniel Ortega in the 1990 elections, was detained in her residence for three days in an upscale neighborhood south of Managua , after a judge ordered his arrest and search of the house.

The prosecution accused the 67-year-old journalist, former director of the closed NGO Fundación Violeta Barrios de Chamorro for Reconciliation and Democracy, and the opposition figure most likely to win the presidential elections in November, for misdemeanor offenses, ideological lying, as well as actual bankruptcy with money, property and asset laundering.

Spanish government has expressed “concern” over Chamorro’s arrest and disqualification for the presidential elections in November, and was also concerned about the “continued harassment of journalists and independent media“In the country of Central America.

In a statement from the Foreign Ministry, the Spanish executive said that “serious events and the current political dynamic reduce the spaces for dialogue and coexistence in Nicaragua and jeopardize the democratic legitimacy of legislative elections”.

Therefore, he considered that these measures “must be reversed, immediately ending the detention of Ms. Chamorro and freeing her home, as well as guaranteeing the free exercise of fundamental rights for all citizens and social and political actors ”.

France also urged the Nicaraguan executive to release Chamorro “immediately” and condemned “firmly“That they disqualified her from running for office, a move she called incompatible with the democratic process.

“France strongly condemns these measures, which are incompatible with a free, honest and transparent electoral process, and calls for the immediate release of Ms. Cristiana Chamorro», Indicated the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Spain and France have thus joined the rejection expressed Thursday by the European Commission, who asked Ortega to free Chamorro.

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