MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Managua releases political prisoners as Trump's democratization drive has far left rulers on their toes

The Ortega-Murillo couple fears they could be next in line after Maduro's capture

Nicaragua's Sandinista regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo announced on Saturday that Managua would be releasing a series of political prisoners in a gesture marking the 19th anniversary of the far left administration, never admitting it could also play out as a concession to Washington, as the Donald Trump government embarked on a crusade to rid the hemisphere from governments carrying out these crimes against humanity.

The Ortega-Murillo couple framed the move as a commitment to “reconciliation and peace,” as dozens were released from detention facilities. A preliminary asssessment determined that between 19 and 30 of those freed were in fact political prisoners, including politician Oscar Gadea and evangelical pastor Rudy Palacios.

Opposition leaders claimed that Managua was yielding to the so-called “Maduro Factor” after the Bolivarian leader was captured in Caracas and ferried to New York alongside his wife to stand trial, with at least a lifetime sentence likely expecting him.

This situation would explain the sudden the Ortegas' decision. “There is no doubt that this is the result of political pressure... and chess moves triggered by events in Venezuela,” the Unión Democrática Renovadora (Unamos) said.

The US State Department has lomng questioned the Ortega-Murillo regime's legal mandate after fudgy elections with most opposition leaders either in jail or in exile. The Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs noted that Ortega’s 2006 election should have resulted in a single five-year term, not a nearly two-decade dynasty.

“Today, the brutal Murillo-Ortega dictatorship 'celebrates' 19 years of what should have been a five-year democratic mandate... Nicaraguans voted for a president in 2006, not for an illegitimate dynasty for life,” the State Department said in a statement as the “Zero Tolerance” policy towards full democratization is enforced.

The question now among these leaders is no longer “if,” but rather “who's next?” political analysts agree as the spotlight has shifted toward Cuba.