▲ Some of the freed Nicaraguan political prisoners shout for freedom from the buses upon their arrival at the Air Base in the Guatemalan capital.Afp Photo
AP, AFP and Reuters
The newspaper La Jornada
Friday, September 6, 2024, p. 27
Guatemala. Guatemala yesterday received 135 Nicaraguan political prisoners and prisoners of conscience detained by the government of President Daniel Ortega, including student leaders, religious leaders and human rights defenders, thanks to mediation by the United States, for humanitarian reasons.
The political prisoners arrived at 6:20 a.m. at the La Aurora airport in the capital, where they were assisted by officials from the deportation center that receives hundreds of irregular migrants returned by the United States and Mexico every week.
Thank God I am free; long live free NicaraguaFrancisco Arteaga told reporters with his fist raised. He said from the window of a yellow bus that was taking him to a shelter that he was arrested for publishing on social networks the actions of the Ortega government against the Catholic Church.
In a joint statement, the governments of the United States and Guatemala detailed that Washington facilitated voluntary transport of the group between the two Central American nations and that his departure occurred after months of negotiations.
The group will be provided with medical care, other care and regular visas to legally travel to other countries.
The White House, which expressed its gratitude in a statement the leadership and generosity of the Guatemalan government for graciously accepting these citizens and highlighted the president Bernardo Arévalo for his continued leadership across the region in addressing humanitarian issues and defending freedom. Arévalo stated on social media that receiving them is a sign of the firm democratic conviction from his country, which flatly rejects threats of authoritarian regression.
The release and transfer of political prisoners comes amid a growing campaign against civil associations by the Ortega government. In 2023, it released, expelled, and stripped of their nationality and property 316 critical politicians, journalists, intellectuals, and activists, accusing them of treason.