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Posted: 11/22/2021 / 5:30 PM CST
Updated: 11/22/2021 / 5:30 PM CST
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) – Nicaragua’s former ambassador to the Organization of American States was arrested by unidentified men outside his home, his wife said Monday.
Edgard Parrales was forced into a vehicle by two plainclothes men, according to his wife Carmen Dolores Córdova.
She said the men had not shown any IDs or arrest warrants and she considered it a kidnapping.
The circumstances, however, were similar to the arrest of dozens of opposition activists since May. Among those arrested are seven people who were believed to be possible rivals of President Daniel Ortega in the November 7th presidential election.
Parrales had been one of the few political analysts in the past few months willing to openly criticize Ortega.
The government did not confirm that Parrales had been arrested. The incident comes three days after Ortega’s government announced its intention to withdraw from the OAS, a move Parrales described as “nonsensical”.
Nicaragua’s government announced on Friday that it would withdraw from the OAS, a regional body accusing Ortega’s government of repression and manipulation of this month’s elections.
Ortega was elected to a fourth consecutive term in elections widely criticized as a farce after seven likely challengers were arrested and imprisoned by Ortega.
The OAS General Assembly voted to condemn the elections, saying they were “not free, fair or transparent, and lacking democratic legitimacy”.
Twenty-five countries in America voted for the resolution, while seven – including Mexico – abstained. Only Nicaragua voted against.
The ruling Sandinista Front and its allies control Congress and all government institutions. Ortega initially served as president from 1985 to 1990, following the 1979 revolution that ousted the Somoza family dictatorship before returning to power in 2007.
Relatives of politicians detained in Nicaragua expressed concern about the deteriorating health of the inmates and called for their immediate release.
The families distributed a statement to reporters complaining that the detainees were isolated, constantly interrogated and insufficiently eaten.
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https://www.kxan.com/news/international/ex-oas-ambassador-detained-in-nicaragua/
