Over 200 Prisoners Sent To The US From Nicaragua

More than 200 political prisoners from authoritarian-led Nicaragua were transferred to U.S. soil this week. After being released, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced the development in a press release on Thursday. 

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“The release of these individuals, one of whom is a U.S. citizen, by the government of Nicaragua marks a constructive step towards addressing human rights abuses in the country and opens the door to further dialogue between the United States and Nicaragua regarding issues of concern,” he said.

According to the Biden administration, the release was a “unilateral decision” by the Nicaraguan government under President Daniel Ortega. The country’s Judicial Council said that the prisoners had been stripped of their citizenship and nationality after being declared “traitors to the nation.”

Ortega, a known dictator peddling radical left policies, claimed that the prisoners were among those behind some 2018 street protests, which he calls an attempt to overthrow him. Nicaraguan security had responded to the protests with a full force of violence, causing many to flee into exile as others were arrested.

However, the U.S. believes all political prisoners should be released. “And whether this is a token of their demonstration that they’re ready to begin to change the human rights policies or not remains to be seen. But the fact that they were released, we’re happy to receive them and I’m glad they’re out,” President Joe Biden stated.

“The decision of the Nicaraguan government is a positive and welcome one,” an administration official said in an interview with the Post, where they declared the U.S. interest in “additional steps by the government of Nicaragua to restore civil liberties and democracy for the Nicaraguan people.”

The Biden administration claims to have thoroughly vetted and screened all the prisoners before their transfer and also before entry into the U.S. Per CBS News, the prisoners include at least one American.

Nicaragua releases more than 200 political prisoners to U.S.

The administration did say that the release, which is the biggest in the United States’ history of prisoner negotiation, was the result of concerted diplomatic efforts. But the full picture is unclear. Such releases are part of an economic deal and are followed by economy-impacting actions such as the lifting of sanctions. 

Ortega has, however, denied speculations that the release was due to a negotiation with the U.S.

“It wasn’t about negotiating anything. That has to be clear. We’re not asking that they lift the sanctions. We aren’t asking for anything in return,” he said in a televised national address on Thursday.