Nicaragua: Ex-Rebel Leader and Former Presidential Hopeful Hugo Torres Dies After Imprisonment

Nicaragua's Former rebel and ex-presidential hopeful, Hugo Torres, died after being imprisoned eight months ago.

According to Associated Press, Torres' death was confirmed by his family on Saturday. He died at the age of 73.

The former rebel was reportedly transferred to a hospital after his health deteriorated and died while at the facility, Nicaragua's government said via BBC.

Although government prosecutors did not further the specifics on the cause of Torres' death, reports noted that the former rebel's death bed was a hospital in the Managua area.

Ex-Rebel and Former Presidential Hopeful Hugo Torres' Arrest

According to reports, Hugo Torres was among the 46 opposition figures and presidential hopefuls that were arrested by Nicaragua's government between May and June, ahead of the country's presidential elections.

Unamos, an opposition party that made Torres their vice president, noted that Torres was arrested over "conspiracy to undermine national integrity."

As Torres was held behind bars, Unamos alleged that the former presidential hopeful underwent "physical and psychological torture."

The party also emphasized that they asked the Nicaraguan government about Torres' declining health.

However, the party said that the government did not respond to their request.

Associated Press noted that Torres predicted his arrest during an interview in June last year when he noticed drones flying around his home.

"This interview may be the last one I give you... I am here waiting for them to come for me," Torres said during that time.

Torres was not the only presidential hopeful who was arrested by the Nicaraguan government. It can be recalled that Miguel Mora, who was sentenced to 13 years jail time, was also placed under the custody of the law enforcement authorities.

"It's not just potential candidates anymore, it's potential leaders... this is not a transition to dictatorship; it is a dictatorship in any way," Torres said about the arrest on presidential hopefuls during the interview.

U.N High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet commented on Torres' arrest, saying that the former presidential hopeful was "denied freedom in inhumane conditions and subjected to a legal process with no guarantees."

Nicuaragua's Ex-Rebel Hugo Torres

Hugo Torres was known to be one of the heroes who stood up against Anastasio Somoza's dictatorship in the 1970s.

Torres was a guerilla commander who fought alongside Daniel Ortega during Nicaragua's civil war. He was part of the effort to transform the Sandinista Popular Army that defeated the Nicaraguan Army in the 1990s.

During those times, Torres was also known to free Daniel Ortega in 1974, as the president was jailed over a botched bank robbery in Managua. However, he later accused Ortega of becoming a dictator and founded another opposition party.

Hugo Torres said hours before he was arrested in Nicaragua that he never thought that he would fight another dictatorship which is more "irrational, unscrupulous, and autocratic," than the dictatorship during the Somoza regime.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written By: Joshua Summers

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