Back

Caribbean & Central America - August 2015 (ISSN 1741-4458)

NICARAGUA: Police back under scrutiny

The fatal shooting of a young woman and two children last month by the Nicaragua’s national police (PN) in a botched counter-narcotics operation is only the latest incident to reignite concerns regarding the PN – previously one of Nicaragua’s most trusted institutions. With its response to protests against the government’s US$50bn ‘Gran Canal’ project already subjecting it to criticism at the end of last year, the PN’s handling of recent anti-government protesters have also fanned opposition complaints regarding its lack of independence and subjugation to the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) government led by President Daniel Ortega.

The incident, which also left two other children injured, occurred on 11 July in Las Jagüitas, an area in south-eastern Managua, when PN officials reportedly mistook the family’s vehicle for that of suspected criminals. According to a PN statement, the driver, Milton Antonio Reyes Martínez, failed to obey orders to pull over. However, the local media cited Reyes and his wife, Leyka Ramirez Delgadillo, as saying that they did not see a sign for them to stop, only groups of men shooting at their vehicle from both sides of the road. Two days later the PN announced the arrest of 14 police officials in connection with the case while on 30 July a judge issued nine of the PN officials with prison sentences ranging from two to eleven years.

The violence sparked national outrage, with prominent opposition figures like Dora María Téllez of the FSLN dissident Movimiento Renovador Sandinista (MRS) party calling for PN director, Aminta Granera, to step down while local human rights organisations like Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos (Cenidh) demanded a full investigation. The main political opposition party, Partido Liberal Independiente (PLI), led by Eduardo Montealegre, also released a statement accusing the FSLN government of having destroyed the institutionality of the police and using it for its own purposes.

The incident took place just a week after the PN was accused of alleged brutality against government opponents – including Montealegre. The clashes took place on 9 July during demos against the recent election of a supreme electoral court (CSE) magistrate (see box) and more general concerns about the CSE. As well as Montealegre, eight other opposition national deputies were detained (all of whom were subsequently released), some of whom claimed to have been attacked by the police. Also arrested (and released) were two photographers, Jorge Torres, of the leading national daily, La Prensa, and Esteban Félix of the Associated Press, whose camera equipment was reportedly destroyed. As well as concerns from local human rights groups like Cenidh and the main private sector lobby, Cacif, the violence also prompted a response from the US embassy which on 9 July released a statement expressing “concern by the reports of violence surrounding scheduled demonstrations in front of the Consejo Supremo Electoral (CSE) in Managua”.

New CSE magistrate

The clashes over the ten-member CSE were triggered by the 3 July selection of Judith Silva as a new magistrate by the FSLN-controlled 91-seat unicameral national legislature. Silva, who is FSLN-aligned, was appointed for a five-year term to fill a vacancy left by José Marenco Cardenal, who died of a heart attack on 11 June. Marenco had been appointed to the court in 2005 by the Partido Liberal Constitucionalista (PLC) of disgraced former president, Arnoldo Alemán (1997-2002), although he later broke with that party. Silva was selected with 64 votes in favour – all from the FSLN – to two against. The concerns regarding the CSE’s independence come ahead of the November 2016 general elections in which President Ortega is expected to run and win a third consecutive victory.

  • Silva

Nominated by President Daniel Ortega, the new supreme electoral court (CSE) magistrate, Judith Silva, defeated two other candidates to take up the post - one put forward by the main opposition Partido Liberal Independiente (PLI) and the other, by an independent deputy, Mauricio Montealegre. She had previously served as the executive president of the government’s urban and rural housing institute (Invur).

End of preview - This article contains approximately 667 words.

Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article

Not a Subscriber?

Choose from one of the following options

LatinNews
Intelligence Research Ltd.
167-169 Great Portland Street,
5th floor,
London, W1W 5PF - UK
Phone : +44 (0) 203 695 2790
Contact
You may contact us via our online contact form
Copyright © 2022 Intelligence Research Ltd. All rights reserved.