RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – In a new blow against freedom of expression in Nicaragua, the security forces of Daniel Ortega’s regime are surrounding the editorial offices of El Confidencial newspaper.
“We demand respect for our journalists. We reject a new threat of seizure and confiscation. They will not silence us. We will continue to do journalism,” warned Carlos Chamorro, director of the media outlet, on his social networks.
He added: “Thank you for your solidarity. Our offices are surrounded by riot troops. We demand respect for the physical integrity of our colleagues. We demand the withdrawal of the police.”
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Earlier on Thursday, the Nicaraguan regime, through the Ministry of the Interior, announced that it had opened an investigation into opposition presidential candidate and journalist Cristiana Chamorro Barrios, daughter of Nicaragua’s ex-president Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (1990-1997) and sister of Carlos Chamorro, for alleged money laundering.
The investigation into the journalist and presidential candidate comes less than 6 months before the general elections, in which Ortega, in power since 2007, is seeking a new reelection.
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The Ministry of the Interior stated that the investigation into Chamorro Barrios relates to her capacity as executive director of the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation, dedicated to the protection and promotion of freedom of the press and freedom of expression, a position she resigned from last January.
“The ‘Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation for Reconciliation and Democracy’ seriously failed to comply with its obligations before the Regulatory Body and based on the analysis of the Financial Statements for the period 2015-2019, clear evidence of money laundering was found,” said the Ministry of the Interior in a press release.
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The Ministry added that “it has notified the Prosecutor’s Office to initiate the relevant investigation,” and summoned Chamorro Barrios, 67, as well as Walter Antonio Gómez Silva and Marco Antonio Fletes Casco, the Foundation’s representative, financial administrator and general accountant, respectively, “to provide information on the inconsistencies found in the financial reports for the 2015-2019 period.”
Last January, Chamorro Barrios announced the shutdown of operations as a consequence of Nicaragua’s controversial Law Regulating Foreign Agents, proposed and passed by the ruling Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), which penalizes those who receive funding and donations from abroad.
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At that time, the daughter of journalist and national hero Pedro Joaquín Chamorro, murdered in 1978 for criticizing the president and dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle, stated in a letter to Ortega that with this law he was “legally assassinating Nicaragua’s civil society with threats of fines and other offenses,” and that he intended to declare a Nicaraguan a foreigner in his/her own country.
The also vice-president of the Board of Directors of La Prensa newspaper personally lodged an appeal for unconstitutionality against this law, which, in her opinion, “is also one more attack on the international community.”
Known in Nicaragua as the “Putin Law” by the opposition, it establishes fines, sanctions, and authorizes the seizure of property and assets, as well as the revocation of the legal status of NGOs should they intervene in “matters, activities or issues of internal politics,” a concept that the legislation left open to the authorities’ interpretation.
After announcing her presidential aspirations, Chamorro Barrios won a simulation election in the context of the November general elections, conducted by the Nicaragua Decide youth organization. Amidst the split in the opposition, she proposed that a single presidential candidate for the opposition be chosen through a poll to face Ortega in the November elections.
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Two days ago, Ortega accused U.S. Ambassador to Managua Kevin K. Sullivan of allegedly “pressuring” the opposition parties to choose a single candidate for the November elections, which in political and diplomatic circles is said to be Chamorro Barrios, who enjoys greater popularity.
The Sandinista leader warned: “The Yankee ambassador should not interfere here, nominating candidates and pressuring political parties to accept the candidates the Yankee wants.”
Nicaragua is scheduled to hold presidential and legislative elections next November 7.
The electoral body, controlled by the Sandinistas, this week cancelled the legal status of two opposition parties.