[Leer en español]
Nicaragua ceded to the Ministry of Health (Minsa) the buildings illegally seized from two media critical of the tyranny of Daniel Ortega and nine NGOs that were “illegalized” in the context of the socio-political crisis that the country has been experiencing since April 2018, denounced this Wednesday by those affected.
The facilities where the television channel 100 % News was operating and the digital magazines Confidencial and Niú and the television programs “Esta Semana” and “Esta Noche”, which are guarded by police officers, were opened with the sign “this property belongs to the Ministry of Health.”
These signs, colored in pink and with the emblems of the local tyranny, were also placed at the foot of the headquarters of the organizations that the National Assembly (Parliament), controlled by the government and at the request of the Executive, stripped of their legality a couple of years ago, among them the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights (Cenidh).
At that time, the Ministry of the Interior ordered that the assets seized from the nine illegalized NGOs be turned over to the State administration.
The tyranny has not explained the process of adjudication over the facilities of these buildings.
Denouncement of de facto confiscation
“The dictatorship executes the de facto confiscation of the Confidential and 100% newsroom (…). They also confiscate properties of non-governmental organizations: Ortega violates his own Constitution and annuls the CSJ (Supreme Court of Justice)”, denounced the journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro, who directs “Esta Semana”, “Esta Noche”, “Confidencial” and “Niú”.
Chamorro, son of former president Violeta Barrios (1990-1997), said that there is no judicial ruling “to confiscate Confidential and 100% News”, but that “it is a de facto act, an order by Ortega, executed manu militari that annuls the Supreme Court”.
“This is a shameless robbery and a de facto confiscation,” said, for his part, the founder and owner of 100 % Noticias, journalist Miguel Mora, whose channel, which now transmits through digital platforms, shared photographs and videos of the government signs.
Mora said that he has not been notified if there has been any confiscation decree or judicial resolution on the property seized from 100 % Noticias.
“It is an armed robbery, it is a violation of private property and it is a message that none of your property is yours,” said Mora, for whom the State is sending a message to all Nicaraguans and investors.
“The message is to each and every Nicaraguan: you do not own your private property, your house, anything. It is a message to entrepreneurs, from the smallest to the largest. It’s a message to investors: in Nicaragua, private property is not respected,” he continued.
Nicaragua’s tranny steals goods from its citizens
Nicaraguan human rights activist Juan Carlos Arce said that 24 months after the nine NGOs were outlawed, “the (Ortega) government has materialized the confiscation,” a figure that is prohibited by the Political Constitution.
“In such a way that it is an action devoid of legality, it is an illegitimate action and is part of an attack against civil society and the media,” argued Arce, a lawyer by profession.
The organizations that Parliament stripped of their legality are the Cenidh, the Center for Information and Advisory Services in Health (Cisas), the Institute for Strategic Studies and Public Policy (Ieepp), the Institute for the Development of Democracy (Ipade) and Let’s Make Democracy.
Also the NGOs Instituto de Liderazgo de las Segovias (ILS), Fundación del Río, the Centro de Investigación de la Comunicación (Cinco) and the Fundación Popol Na.
In addition, two years ago he raided and forcibly seized the buildings where the 100% News and Media Group led by Chamorro was operating.
Since April 2018, Nicaragua has experienced a socio-political crisis that has left at least 328 dead, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), although local bodies have raised the figure to 684 and the tyranny has recognized 200.
