Daniel Ortega

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Ortega Proposes Making His Wife Copresident

Analyst calls plans, which include a longer term, a threat to Nicaraguan democracy

(Newser) - Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega on Wednesday proposed a constitutional reform that would officially make him and his wife, current Vice President Rosario Murillo, copresidents of the Central American nation. While the initiative has to pass through the country's legislature to take effect, Ortega and Murillo's Sandinista party...

After Pope's Public Comments, Nicaragua Frees Jailed Bishop

Along with 18 other clergy members

(Newser) - Nicaragua's government released a prominent Catholic bishop and 18 other clergy members imprisoned in a crackdown by President Daniel Ortega and handed them over to Vatican authorities, who welcomed them in Rome on Sunday. Bishop Rolando Alvarez—described by the New York Times as "one of the most...

Nicaragua Surprises US By Sending 222 Detainees

Biden welcomes arrivals, saying, 'I'm glad they're out'

(Newser) - In the middle of the night, political leaders, priests, students, and activists languishing in Nicaragua's most notorious prisons were awoken, given back the clothes they had been arrested in and told to dress. Hours later, 222 of them, widely considered political prisoners, landed at a Washington-area airport, deported from...

Biden Targets Nicaragua's Gold
Biden Goes After
Nicaragua's Gold
Oct 25, 2022 1:30 AM CDT

Biden Goes After Nicaragua's Gold

In new move against President Daniel Ortega's authoritarian rule

(Newser) - The Biden administration is ratcheting up pressure on President Daniel Ortega’s authoritarian rule in Nicaragua , threatening a ban on Americans from doing business in the nation’s gold industry, raising the possibility of trade restrictions and stripping the US visas of some 500 government insiders. The actions, stemming from...

Nicaragua Raids Church Residence, Arresting Bishop

Police knock down door at 3am, taking other priests and seminarians to prison

(Newser) - Nicaraguan riot police raided a Roman Catholic diocese's headquarters at 3am Friday, knocking the door down and taking a bishop and several priests and seminarians into custody. The raid was on the residence of Bishop Rolando Álvarez in the northern city of Matagalpa, the Wall Street Journal reports....

Ortega's Opponents Ask Voters to Sit Out Election

With rivals in jail, president seeks another term

(Newser) - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega sought a fourth consecutive term in elections Sunday against a field of little-known candidates, while those who could have given him a real challenge sat in jail. More than 13,000 polling places opened in the morning even as the opposition denounced more arrests of its...

US, Syria Will Soon Be Only Holdouts on Paris Accord

Nicaragua will sign the climate agreement soon

(Newser) - When President Trump announced earlier this year that the US would pull out of the Paris climate accord, much of the coverage pointed out that only Nicaragua and Syria were also in the "no" camp. That group just got a little smaller: Nicaragua plans to sign the accord, leaving...

Nicaraguan Prez's Running Mate: His Own Wife

Opponent says move is 'absolutist, totalitarian'

(Newser) - A plot straight out of House of Cards is playing out in Nicaragua: On Tuesday, President Daniel Ortega chose his wife as his running mate ahead of a November election that he's "heavily favored to win," securing a third consecutive term, reports Reuters . Ortega, 70, of the...

Nicaragua Threatens to Reclaim 20% of Costa Rica

Daniel Ortega wants to go to International Court of Justice

(Newser) - Nicaragua's president warned once again yesterday that his country might seek to reclaim 20% of neighboring Costa Rica, AFP reports. "Costa Rica did not win that territory in an international court, but rather by force, with arms," said Daniel Ortega at a military ceremony. He was referring...

Nicaragua's Ortega Rewrites Constitution Overnight

To give his buddies more time term in office

(Newser) - What do you do when your country’s pesky constitution won’t let your buddies have another term in office? Why, declare a national holiday, and then rewrite the darn thing while everyone’s vacationing, of course. That’s what Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega did last week, reports the Christian ...

Chilly Reception Awaits Obama at Summit

Odds are, summit will be full of awkward moments

(Newser) - President Obama got a warm welcome on his recent Europe trip, but he shouldn't expect the same from Latin America, the Washington Post reports. At the upcoming Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, the new president is likely to face some tough questions, and potentially awkward moments, as...

Nicaragua's Ortega to US: Now Bail Out Central America

(Newser) - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega says the US should extend its zeal for bailouts south of the border, the Miami Herald reports. Ortega says Central America is reeling from the downturn as US manufacturing and textile plants shut down or downsize. It’s only fair, then, that the US offer a...

Nicaragua Latest to Sever Ties Over Colombia Raid

Ortega, citing 'political terrorism,' follows lead of Ecuador, Venezuela

(Newser) - Nicaragua cut diplomatic ties with Bogota today, ratcheting up the political tension in the wake of Colombia's raid into Ecuador to kill rebels, the BBC reports. Calling Sunday's incursion an act of "political terrorism," President Daniel Ortega followed the lead of Ecuador and Venezuela, which have already severed...

Ortega Snubs US, Seals Iran Trade Pact

US wary of Iranian toehold in Latin American 'backyard'

(Newser) - Nicaragua has finalized a trade deal with Iran worth hundreds of millions of dollars despite bitter opposition from Washington, the Guardian reports. The deal will exchange Nicaraguan  bananas, coffee and meat for farm equipment and Iranian funds for infrastructure projects, including a hydroelectric dam, milk-processing plants, housing and a health...

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