Mexico City (AP) – The Nicaragua government has removed the last remaining checks and balances and “systemically implemented a strategy to address the country’s full control through serious human rights violations,” the UN panel of experts warned Wednesday.
The report by human rights experts is the latest, strongest condemnation of President Daniel Ortega and the First Lady and now co-president Rosario Murillo, who has been fighting dissent and civil society for years.
The crackdown began with the government’s violent crackdown on the 2018 protests. Since then, the Nicaragua government has “deliberately turned the country into a dictatorial state”, experts said. The suppression has forced thousands of people into exile in the country.
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“The state and the ruling Sandista Party have actually been integrated into a unified suppression machine and have domestic and transnational influence,” said Jan Simon, chairman of the UN Expert Group, in a statement. “Ortega and Murillo operate a broad intelligence aircraft that monitor populations and chooses targets for violations of rights, with the “eyes and ears” as the “eyes and ears” that allow (the government of Nicaraguan) to obtain and maintain full control of people.”
The Nicaragua government did not respond to a request for comment.
Experts say the final democratic strike last month was carried out by constitutional reforms adopted by the Nicaraguan Congress, which is firmly controlled by Ortega and Murillo’s Sandista party.
The reform, which came into effect on February 18, effectively putting all government branches under the power of the president and formally putting Ortega and Murillo “co-presidents”, would guarantee the succession of Murillo and his family.
The reform also expanded the presidency from five years to five years, a move that further strengthened the family’s firm grasp of power.
In addition to government control, Ortega and Murillo have expanded their use of arbitrary detention, forced deportation, confiscation of private property and deprived of Nicaraguan citizenship, the report of UN experts said.
Experts say they compiled a list of people they believe are responsible for this repression, who will be shared with the Nicaraguan government and made public through the UN Human Rights Commission. They also urged the international community to take legal action and expand targeted sanctions against these people and provide greater protection for Nicaraguan exiles.
