Nicaragua Is Weaponizing Illegal Migrants to Gain Leverage Against the Biden Admin, Experts Say

The government of Nicaragua is using large U.S.-bound migrant waves coming through his country to force sanctions relief out of President Joe Biden, according to the Associated Press, citing experts familiar with the situation.

More than 260 charter planes believed to have carried migrants from Haiti have landed in Nicaragua in recent months, which Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is using to get sanctions relief from Biden, experts told the AP. In recent years, the U.S. government has increased sanctions on Ortega’s government and family as thousands flee his repressive regime.

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Ruthless Repression: Nicaraguan President Imprisons More than 1,800 People for Political Reasons in the Last Five Years

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)  published new figures on the repression in Nicaragua, five years after the massive protests that came close to removing the dictator Daniel Ortega from power.

According to the IACHR , in this period the Nicaraguan tyrant has ordered the imprisonment of 1,841 opponents. To date, 47 people remain in detention, while 222 have been deported.

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‘I Don’t Believe in Popes’: Nicaraguan President Reportedly Bans Easter Public Processions

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega reportedly banned public church processions for Easter after comparing the Catholic church to the “mafia,” according to the Catholic News Agency (CNA).

Tensions between the government and the church have been rising due to Ortega orchestrating multiple investigations into church leaders and exiling others, according to CNA. Ortega has reportedly placed a ban on public religious demonstrations during Lent, Good Friday and Easter after he attacked the church during a speech memorializing the 89th anniversary of Nicaraguan national hero Augusto Sandino’s death, calling the Catholic church a “mafia organization” committing “grave crimes and horrors.”

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