Nicaragua: Police Monitoring Brother of Dictator Daniel Ortega, Humberto Ortega

The house of retired Nicaraguan Gen. Humberto Ortega, brother of President Daniel Ortega, has been under constant guard from police over the last few days. This was confirmed by the Nicaragua National Police on Tuesday, just two days after local media reported that police surrounded the Ortega brother's home.

In their statement, the Nicaragua National Police stated that the d 77-year-old Humberto Ortega, who suffers from heart problems, was recently visited by the country's Ministry of Health inside his home and evaluated his health. However, they did not reveal exactly why he needed that much police guard since the government only explained this was a health problem.

According to the Associated Press, local media reports indicated that the police had been in Humberto Ortega's home since Sunday, which was the same day that Spanish language news outlet Infobae published its interview with the former Nicaragua Army general.

During that interview, Humberto reportedly talked about his at times tense relationship with his brother, who has held an iron grip around Nicaragua since the 2018 anti-government protests. Ortega has clamped down on any form of dissent and criticism against him, his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, and their government, which many consider a conjugal dictatorship.

Humberto Ortega reportedly characterized his brother's current administration as "authoritarian, dictatorial" during that Infobae interview and he pointed out that it would become very difficult for there to be continuity with the immediate group in power should his brother die. Many believe that this casual criticism of his brother led to police surrounding his home.

Nicaragua Continues Repression of Dissent and the Roman Catholic Church Under Daniel Ortega

Meanwhile, as Nicaraguan police surround the home of Humberto Ortega, his brother has continued his campaign against any form of dissent in the country. His biggest target so far has been the Roman Catholic Church.

Many of Ortega's political opponents have already been exiled from the country, with some of the most prominent opposition leaders continuing their fight outside of Nicaragua. This includes Matagalpa Bishop Rolando Alvarez who was exiled to the Vatican earlier this year, along with 18 other clergymen.

So far, Ortega's government has seized Church property, including the largest and most prestigious school in Nicaragua, and also expelled foreign missionaries, including Mother Teresa's order of nuns, the Sisters of Charity. The government has also targeted protestants in its campaign against dissent.

US Imposes Sanctions Against Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega Regime

With the ongoing repression all over Nicaragua, the United States government imposed visa restrictions on more than 250 Ortega regime officials. The Biden administration also levied sanctions on three Nicaraguan entities in retaliation for "repressive actions" and its "failure to stem migrant smuggling" across the country.

"Actions by the Nicaraguan government are of grave concern. President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo have put in place permissive-by-design migration policies," read a statement from the US Department of Homeland Security.

NBC News noted that Nicaragua has become a transit hub for migrants as they often fly into the country before taking the long trek north to the US-Mexico border. This is considered a safe way as they usually bypass the dangerous Darien Gap.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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