Nicaragua revokes nationality of 135 exiled political prisoners

Nicaragua on Tuesday revoked the nationality and confiscated the property of 135 former political prisoners who were freed and flown to Guatemala last week in a deal negotiated by the United States.

The punishment was announced in a statement from the judiciary, which rights activists say operates under the control of President Daniel Ortega, who has intensified a crackdown on dissent in recent years.

A court in the capital Managua ordered the "loss of Nicaraguan nationality of 135 people convicted of criminal acts that threaten the sovereignty, independence and self-determination of the Nicaraguan people," and ordered that all their assets be seized.

The ruling brings to 451 the number of opposition members in Nicaragua who have been stripped of their citizenship since the beginning of 2023, according to an AFP count based on official data.

The mass release of prisoners by Ortega's left-wing government on September 5 followed an prior operation in February 2023, involving more than 200 prisoners who were flown to the United States.

The prisoners freed last week will also have the opportunity to move to the United States.

Ortega, a 78-year-old former leftist guerrilla who battled US-backed forces in the 1980s, returned to power in 2007 and initially had been seen as more moderate.

But he has since lifted presidential term limits, seized control of all branches of government and led a sweeping crackdown on groups including the Catholic Church and NGOs seen as threats to his rule.