Nicaragua Government Commits 'Crimes Against Humanity' Similar to Nazi Regime, U.N. Report Says

Nicaragua's government had been found to have committed human rights abuses, including torture and murder, similar to the Nazi regime, according to a United Nations report.

The U.N. investigative team's report noted that the rights abuses were so serious that they amounted to crimes against humanity. According to The New York Times, the U.N. report laid out the evidence for any efforts to try Nicaragua's president Daniel Ortega, his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, and other top government officials overseas.

On Thursday, the head of the U.N. investigation called for international sanctions against Nicaragua's government and compared the country's human rights abuses to those committed during the Nazi regime.

Jan-Michael Simon, head of the team of U.N.-appointed criminal justice experts, noted that the current government of Nicaragua used tactics to remain in power since 2018 were similar to those seen during the Nuremberg trials.

Simon told The Times that "weaponizing" the justice system against political opponents is similar to what the Nazi regime did. He added that Nazis also resorted to stripping people of their nationality, including expelling them out of the country.

Nicaragua's Government

Jan-Michael Simon said in a Reuters report that the Nicaraguan government's objective is to "eliminate by different means" any of those opposing the country's leadership. He went on to say that the Nicaraguan population has been living in fear due to the means used by the government.

The group of U.N. experts said it sent 12 letters to the Nicaraguan government since it started working a year ago. A final report was also sent to the government, but it has yet to receive a response.

Simon noted that Nicaragua carrying out crimes against humanity could also affect its government's ability to secure international financing. U.N. investigators said police forces and pro-government groups acting in concert with deadly results were among the many ways it used to crack down on the protesters.

They further noted that the police shot demonstrators "in a systematic manner," along with armed groups that were not authorized to use force. The U.N. report found that 40 extrajudicial executions showed that law enforcement agents and pro-government groups acted in a "coordinated manner."

Nicaragua Opposition Figures

In February, around 222 inmates from Nicaragua flew to Washington, according to a senior official from U.S. President Joe Biden's administration.

Nicaragua's government decided "unilaterally" to release 222 individuals. The senior official said that some of the released prisoners had spent years imprisoned "under terrible conditions" for exercising their rights.

Thousands of people have fled into exile since Nicaraguan security forces violently cracked down on anti-government protests. Octavio Rothschuh, a magistrate in the Managua Appeals court, said the deportation was done under an order that declared the opposition figures "traitors to the country," France 24 reported.

According to Jan-Michael Simon, the government systematically committed arbitrary detentions and prosecutions of its opponents using multiple government institutions. It also included sexual violence, and people in custody were also tortured.

Daniel Ortega noted that the imprisoned opponents of his regime were behind the 2018 street demonstrations that he claimed to be a plot to overthrow him. Ortega first rose to power as a left-wing leader of Sandinista, a guerilla movement that ousted the Anastasio Somoza dictatorship in the 1970s.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Mary Webber

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