White House secures release of 135 political prisoners in Nicaragua
The Biden administration said Thursday it had secured the release of 135 “unjustly detained political prisoners” in Nicaragua on humanitarian grounds, including 13 members of a Texas-based missionary organization.
The freed individuals released also include students, Catholic laypeople, journalists, and “others who Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo consider a threat to their authoritarian rule,” Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security advisor, said in a statement.
“The United States welcomes the leadership and generosity of the Government of Guatemala for graciously agreeing to accept these Nicaraguan citizens. Once in Guatemala, these individuals will be offered the opportunity to apply for lawful ways to rebuild their lives in the United States or other countries through President Biden’s Safe Mobility Office initiative,” Sullivan said.
The Nicaraguan nationals have already arrived in Guatemala, where they will have the ability to apply for “lawful pathways to resettle to the United States or elsewhere” and “begin the process of rebuilding their lives,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
It is the second major prisoner release in Nicaragua secured by the Biden administration, after 222 political prisoners were released by authorities in the Central American nation in February of last year.
A joint statement issued by Guatemala and the United States notes that the latest prisoner release was the culmination of “months” of negotiations.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Eric Jacobstein told reporters in a call on Thursday that the U.S. government would not change its policy toward the Ortega regime in response to the prisoner release, vowing to “continue to promote accountability” in Nicaragua going forward.
Generally speaking, the prisoners were in “good health and spirit” upon their release, “all things considered,” Jacobstein said.
Managua was not offered anything by the U.S. in exchange for the release, Jacobstein added. “The Nicaraguan regime got nothing from this,” he said. “This was a unilateral action.”
In his statement, Sullivan said that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are grateful to President Bernardo Arévalo “for his continued leadership across the region in addressing humanitarian issues and championing democratic freedom.”
“The United States again calls on the Government of Nicaragua to immediately cease the arbitrary arrest and detention of its citizens for merely exercising their fundamental freedoms,” Sullivan added.
This story was originally published September 5, 2024 at 9:25 AM.
