The arrest of the former Nicaraguan diplomat Mauricio Zeus was announced by the police on Monday, thus increasing the 32 opponents of President Daniel Ortega who have been detained, almost three months before the presidential election.
“Mauricio Jose Zeus, who is being investigated for actions that undermine national sovereignty and self-determination (of Nicaragua) and incite foreign intervention in its internal affairs, has been arrested,” a police press release said.
According to his party, the Citizens’ Alliance for Freedom (Alianza Ciudadanos por la Libertad, CxL, right), Mr Zeus was arrested as he was leaving the prosecutor’s office, where he had been questioned by authorities as part of an investigation into various opposition figures and journalists criticize the government.
Mr. Zeus, its former ambassador Nicaragua in the Organization of American States (OAK) and in Costa Rica, was the last representative of the CxL, a party that on Friday was excluded from the political game in view of the November 7 presidential election.
According to the Athenian-Macedonian News Agency, the president Daniel Ortega, who will run for a fourth consecutive term in office, is accused of ousting any strong opponent in the run-up to the election.
The 75-year-old former rebel leader will be the candidate of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) party, while his wife, Rosario Mourinho, will run for a second consecutive term in the vice-presidency. They have practically no opponent.
Among the 32 opposition members detained are seven potential candidates.
The current wave of arrests was triggered on June 2, when Christiana Chamorro, considered the couple’s most serious rival, was placed under house arrest. She is the daughter of Violeta Chamorro Barrios, who defeated Daniel Ortega in the 1990 elections and ruled until 1997.
The government describes the arrested “mercenaries” in the US operation, who conspired to organize a “coup” and overthrow Mr. Ortega, with the help of Washington.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on Saturday that the November 7 election in Nicaragua had “lost all credibility”.
The US government and the European Union have imposed sanctions on the government of Daniel Ortega in response to the crackdown on the opposition, which has escalated since the outbreak of anti-government protests in 2018, with more than 300 dead.
* The photo is a file
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