Twelve OAS countries have asked Daniel Ortega to release all imprisoned protesters

The 12 countries of the Organization of American States (OAS) Nicaragua Working Group on Friday called on Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega to release "all" imprisoned protesters, in accordance with what was agreed in the dialogue with the opposition.

The Working Group – composed of Argentina, the United States, Guyana, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica and Ecuador – a presented this request at a special session of the Permanent Council of the OAS to examine the situation in the country of Central America.

In a document presented to the Council, the 12 countries urged the government of Ortega and the opposition, the Civic Alliance, to respect the commitments made in the dialogue suspended on April 3 and in which the OAS General Secretariat , directed by Luis Almagro, and the act of the Vatican as guarantors and witnesses.

Specifically, the 12 countries call for the release of all those who have been imprisoned since the April 2018 protests against Ortega, which left 325 dead and 2,000 wounded, according to figures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. man (IACHR). .

In addition, to require Ortega to authorize the IACHR to enter Nicaragua, who played a very important role in the crisis by supporting the first attempts at dialogue and, later, documenting human rights violations.

On the other hand, the 12 countries demand "that a process be put in place to strengthen the electoral system" and "to put an end to repression, including respect for freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate peacefully".

On January 11, the Permanent Council of the OAS launched the implementation of the Democratic Charter in Nicaragua, but since then no specific initiative has been taken to move this process forward.

Diplomatic sources told Efe that Friday's document seeks to increase pressure on Ortega to comply with the agreement in the framework of the dialogue and, in addition, paves the way for the continuation of the process of implementation. of the Democratic Charter, which could lead to the suspension of Nicaragua.

In 70 years of existence, the OAS has suspended only two states (Cuba and Honduras); at its general badembly last year, he had taken a first step to start this process with Venezuela.