Nicaragua March 22, 2021. On the night of June 21, the Nicaraguan police arrested the sports journalist Miguel Ángel Mendoza Urbina. The government of Daniel Ortega confirmed his arrest on a press release which expressed that the journalist is investigated for: «Carrying out acts that undermine independence, sovereignty, and self-determination, inciting foreign interference in internal affairs, requesting military interventions, organizing with financing from foreign powers to carry out acts of terrorism and destabilization, propose and manage commercial, economic blockades, and financial operations against the country and its institutions, demand, exalt and applaud the imposition of sanctions against the State of Nicaragua and its citizens and injure the supreme interests of the Nation.»
Miguel Mendoza is the second journalist in custody. On Sunday 20, the police raided the house and arrested journalist Miguel Mora, former director of 100% Noticias. The communicator is accused of alleged crimes against sovereignty.
Also, in a new episode of persecution against the independent media, last night, the police raided the house of Carlos Chamorro, director of Confidencial ann Esta Semana. He warned through Twitter that «the police are raiding my house in Intermezzo del Bosque. We demand respect for my sister-in-law Amelia Elizondo’s physical integrity and the domestic worker Amparo Castillo. They will not silence journalism».
Daniel Ortega ordenó dos veces cerrar la redacción de Confidencial. Ahora la policía está allanando mi casa en Intermezzo del Bosque. Exigimos respeto a la integridad física de mi cuñada Amelia Elizondo, y la trabajadora doméstica Amparo Castillo. No callarán al periodismo.
— Carlos F Chamorro (@cefeche) June 22, 2021
Carlos Chamorro, announced this morning that he and his wife went into exile for a second time since 2018. Chamorro has been threatened since the beginning of this new wave of governmental abuse and crackdown on the press and opposition leaders. On May 20, the police raided the offices of Confidencial and arbitrarily detained the reporter Leonel Gutiérrez.
On Monday night, the police also arrested the former First Lady of Nicaragua and former President Arnoldo Alemán’s wife, María Fernanda Flores, who remains in police custody at her home.
With Mendez, Flores, and Mora, there are in total 19 opinion leaders, politicians, and business people arrested in the last few weeks. And as part of an investigation on the freedom of expression organization, Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation, almost 30 journalists have been called to testify. Three have been threatened with a trial for violating the cybercrime law, which penalizes what the State considers false news. And three journalists under house arrest, including the Univisión correspondent in Nicaragua, María Lili Delgado.