Nicaragua's Congress on Tuesday accepted a US$ 100 million loan offered by Taiwan, giving a line of support to President Daniel Ortega's government, which has become increasingly isolated after a brutal crackdown on protesters last year.
With an average score of 44 for three consecutive years, the Americas region continues to fail in making any serious inroads against corruption, according to the latest report from Transparency International. Compared to other regions, the Americas is similar to Asia Pacific (average score: 44), but behind Western Europe and the European Union (average score: 66).
A total 340 people have been reported Tuesday to be incarcerated in Nicaragua for their involvement in anti-givernment actions, according to the National Prison System, as the administration of President Daniel Ortega has been going through a socio-political crisis since April that has left hundreds dead and thousands either under arrest or injured. Human rights NGOs estimate the number of detainees to be almost twice as many.
The Pope has used his annual Christmas message to appeal for peace in conflict zones including Yemen and Syria. The two countries have both been ravaged by civil war for years, pushing their people into humanitarian crises. Francis also called for political reconciliation in Nicaragua and Venezuela.
Brazil's Presdient-elect Jair Bolsonaro will not welcome any Nicaraguan delegation at the inauguration ceremony in Brasilia on January 1, his future Foreign Minister Ernesto Araújo announced on Twitter.
In a local replica of the #MeToo movement, actress/model Thelma Fardin last week announced with the backing of radical feminist groups that she had been abused by actor Juan Darthes while on tour in Nicaragua. At the time of the alleged abuse in 2009, Fardin was 16 and therefore a minor. Darthes has already been “buried alive” and any show or commercial ad with his face has been removed from national TV.
Nicaragua's Parliament Thursday stripped five Non Government Organisations from their legal status on the grounds that a report from the Ministry of the Interior said they were part of a group behind the failed coup attempt against President Daniel Ortega, to bring the total number of NGOs to have received the same treatment over the past two weeks to nine.
United States president Donald Trump on Tuesday sanctioned the wife of Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega and one of his aides under a new executive order allowing Washington to target Nicaraguan officials for a crackdown on anti-government protests.
United States imposed new sanctions Thursday on Venezuela and Cuba and promised additional penalties against Nicaragua as the Trump administration laid out a hard-line policy toward countries the White House branded a troika of tyranny.
The World Medical Association has appealed to the Nicaraguan Government to stop criminalizing doctors for delivering medical care to protesters during the country’s continuing wave of violence.