Today Nicaragua

01/02/2020

Six indigenous people have been killed and another 10 kidnapped after scores of armed men raided an isolated Nicaraguan nature reserve in an attack linked to raging land disputes. About 80 attackers stormed a Mayangna commune about 500km (310 miles) north of capital Managua, deep in the north-central Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, the second-largest rainforest in the Americas after the Amazon. [ 315 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/massacre-leaves-six-indigenous-people-dead-at-nicaraguan-nature-reserve/

30/01/2020

Costa Rica's immigration police reported on Wednesday the arrest of three Nicaraguans wanted for the killing of a family in the Maio Indian Reserve, in Nicaragua, in October 2019. Nicaraguan authorities never confirmed the finding of the murdered family, but at the time the Fundación del Río, through environmentalist Amaru Ruiz denounced the massacre caused by land conflicts, reports Q Costa Rica. Costa Rica now has to wait for Nicaragua to request the extradition of the suspects.
http://todaynicaragua.com/costa-rica-arrested-3-nicaraguans-for-murder-in-nicaragua-never-confirmed/

Costa Rica’s immigration police reported on Wednesday the arrest of three Nicaraguans wanted for the killing of a family in the Maio Indian Reserve, in Nicaragua, in October 2019. Nicaraguan …

30/01/2020

The Government of Italy declared Laureano Ortega, son of President Daniel Ortega, a persona non grata, and therefore did not allow him to enter the country, where he would have attended an opera concert. In Madrid, Nicaraguan protesters concentrated at the International Tourism Fair (FITUR) to protest against the presence of Laureano Ortega in Spain, son of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, shouting "asesino" (murderer). [ 196 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/italy-deported-laureano-ortega-in-spain-he-is-called-asesino-by-protesters/

The Government of Italy declared Laureano Ortega, son of President Daniel Ortega, a persona non grata, and therefore did not allow him to enter the country, where he would have attended an opera co…

30/01/2020

In the first 30 days of 2020, at least 6 women have been killed. To this must be added the 63 femicides that occurred in 2019 and that are part of the 647 cases registered in the last 10 years. Currently, a very high level of insecurity for women is perceived in the country after recent cases of kidnappings, rapes, assaults, and murders. [ 341 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/in-the-face-of-crimes-against-women-there-is-only-community-support-feminists-say/

30/01/2020

Part of the success of Nicaragua's thriving cigar industry is a carefully honed mystique of family: how the clannish industry was forged and maintained by a handful of fathers, sons, cousins, brothers -- and sisters and mothers, too. With more than 50 factories, large and small, the industry is centered around the northwestern city of Esteli. Production by mostly family-run businesses here made Nicaragua the biggest exporter of ci**rs in 2018, its exports of more than $255 million surpassing those of the Dominican Republic and Honduras. [ 607 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/nicaraguan-cigar-factories-keep-it-in-the-family/

30/01/2020

The Somoza dictatorship was a Sultanate, stated sociologist Edelberto Torres-Rivas. Somoza was the government system. Once the Sultan was deposed from his throne, the whole structure came down like a house of cards. But Somoza wasn’t the political culture, or machismo, merely their most visible representative – a strongman whose wishes are orders and his whims the law. When he left, nine strongmen replaced him, reports… [ 74 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/the-autumn-of-the-patriarchy/

19/01/2020

(Prensa Latina) Nicaragua is currently experiencing the recovery of its tourism industry, which started in 2019, assured Tourism Minister Anasha Campbell. This year, Nicaragua is preparing to continue growing in tourism, she pointed out on speaking to local TV news Channel 13. There was a rise of 8 percent in the number of cruise visitors and a similar percentage of local tourists who visited the facilities administered by Nicaragua's Tourism Institute (INTUR) last year, elements identified as among the signs of recovery presented by Campbell. [ 129 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/tourism-minister-highlights-industry-recovery-in-nicaragua/

(Prensa Latina) Nicaragua is currently experiencing the recovery of its tourism industry, which started in 2019, assured Tourism Minister Anasha Campbell. This year, Nicaragua is preparing to conti…

19/01/2020

(AP) - Nicaragua's two main opposition groups announced the formation of a coalition Friday aimed at winning the 2021 elections and ending President Daniel Ortega's rule. Representatives of the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy and Blue and White National Unity said they hope to "reinvigorate the fight" and "rebuild the country." The groups are not among Nicaragua's political parties. Both formed after civil unrest exploded in April 2018. [ 329 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/nicaraguas-opposition-unites-against-ortega-administration/

19/01/2020

I woke up, drank some coffee and was getting ready to write my thesis. Boa Vista’s heat makes you want to die. I remembered those times when I truly felt like dying. I was 20 years old in Managua, and my friends were committing su***de one by one. No one in our group was brave enough to talk about it. And no, I no longer wish to die. [ 1,013 more word ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/valentina-and-my-generation-su***de-and-nicaraguas-youth/

I woke up, drank some coffee and was getting ready to write my thesis. Boa Vista’s heat makes you want to die. I remembered those times when I truly felt like dying. I was 20 years old in Managua, …

19/01/2020

United States senators, Jim Risch and Robert Menendez, urged US Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo, and the Treasury Secretary, Steven Mnuchin, to implement more sanctions against the Ortega Murillo regime. The republican and democratic party senators believe that with more sanctions the leverage will be maximized to pressure the dictatorship to carry out deep reforms that will lead to free and fair elections in Nicaragua. [ 54 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/u-s-senators-request-strategy-of-more-sanctions-on-the-ortega-regime/

17/01/2020

If you are a fan of South American football, in general, you are probably eagerly awaiting this year's edition of the tournament. And you might be part of a crowd that decreases each year, at least this is what last year's attendance numbers suggest. Despite being one of the most popular sports in South America, the number of fans who were attracted by last year's tournament was at a historic low. [ 443 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/3-things-to-know-about-the-2020-edition-of-copa-america/

14/01/2020

It is hard to believe that only 70 years ago, in most Latin American countries, women could not vote. Or even more recently, women’s access to land under agrarian reforms depended on factors like the consent of the male head of household or being a widow. During these times the concept of a working woman was virtually non-existent! Fortunately, much has changed since then, particularly in Central America. [ 605 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/recognition-of-the-property-rights-of-women-in-central-america-mission-accomplished/

It is hard to believe that only 70 years ago, in most Latin American countries, women could not vote. Or even more recently, women’s access to land under agrarian reforms depended on factors like t…

12/01/2020

Women were already under attack in Nicaragua’s social media networks before the April 2018 civic rebellion but following the crisis this violence increased by some 73.1%, reveal the statistics in a study entitled “Violencia de género a través de la tecnología" (Gender Violence through Technology), published by the Nicaraguan Foundation for Economic and Social Development (Funides). “There’s been an escalation of violence towards women, and it’s understandable, since the state itself is reproducing such violence, authorizing citizens to exercise it; and there’s a society where impunity reigns. [ 694 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/nicaragua-crisis-means-increased-violence-against-women/

12/01/2020

Pressured by the sanctions of the international community, the regime of Daniel Ortega has put electoral reform on the agenda of the National Assembly. It includes modifications that the President of the Assembly, Gustavo Porras (one of those sanctioned by the United States), warned will only be discussed with the Supreme Electoral Council, aligned to the Government, and the political parties that have representation in the Parliament (the ruling FSLN, the Constitutional Liberal Party and other Government’s allies), thus excluding the social and political movements organized after the April 2018 Rebellion that demands the departure of Ortega and has divulged a joint proposal for profound electoral reforms, reports… [ 524 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/ortega-plans-a-unilateral-electoral-reform/

Pressured by the sanctions of the international community, the regime of Daniel Ortega has put electoral reform on the agenda of the National Assembly. It includes modifications that the President …

12/01/2020

The ongoing socio-political crisis in Nicaragua has caused large numbers of Nicaraguans to migrate to neighboring nations in Latin America. Similar to Costa Rica, Panama is facing numerous issues related to the influx of Nicaraguan migrants. According to Panamanian Director of the National Migration Service, Samira Gozaine, the new immigration policies implemented by Guatemala and Mexico have shifted Nicaraguan migrants south. [ 234 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/nicaraguan-migrants-travel-south-after-northern-neighbors-tighten-borders/

The ongoing socio-political crisis in Nicaragua has caused large numbers of Nicaraguans to migrate to neighboring nations in Latin America. Similar to Costa Rica, Panama is facing numerous issues r…

27/12/2019

A New York Times report on the hunger strike in Masaya by relatives of political prisoners, published on Thursday, details the attacks suffered by journalist Frances Robles, a correspondent for that newspaper in Central America while reporting in Nicaragua. Robles was attacked twice by supporters of Daniel Ortega in the presence of the Police, without the officers intervening to stop the aggression. [ 449 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/nyt-reporter-assaulted-twice-by-ortega-supporters/

27/12/2019

The National Police in Seville, Spain, carried out an operation, called "Nicarama", on December 23, where they dismantled a criminal gang of labor exploitation, made up of Spaniards and Nicaraguans, where Nicaraguan women were exploited, according to Spanish media. Five people were arrested and seven women were released from the clutches of the organization during the operation. The network recruited Nicaraguan women with the promise of taking them to Spain to work as domestic workers. [ 92 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/spain-dismantles-exploitation-network-that-used-nicaraguans/

27/12/2019

Nicaragua’s national assembly approved a reform of the power industry law to allow the tax-free sale of self-generation surplus from renewable energies. Meanwhile, the assembly’s infrastructure and public services committee issued a favorable ruling on a bill to reform the hydrocarbons exploration and production law. The change would provide tax breaks for importing machinery and heavy equipment to be used during exploration. [ 127 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/nicaragua-invites-foreign-oil-companies/

Nicaragua’s national assembly approved a reform of the power industry law to allow the tax-free sale of self-generation surplus from renewable energies. Meanwhile, the assembly’s infrastructure and…

27/12/2019

As of November 30th, the restaurant and bar association registered a drop of between 20% and 50% in its sales, and they do not foresee any major changes in the coming months. The Cámara Nicaragüense de Restaurantes y Similares (Canires). - Nicaraguan Chamber of Restaurants and Similar - says the decline in sales is because of the lower influx of diners and the effect that the tax reform has had on their cost structures. [ 85 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/nicaragua-restaurants-suffering-the-crisis/

16/12/2019

In Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, above all, no reference will be made. Or if any is done it will sound ironic. Like the one made on the morning of December 10 by Granma, the official newspaper of the Cuban Communist Party, regarding a new anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. “Human rights in Cuba enshrines the full dignity of humankind,” surprises one of Granma’s main headlines. [ 862 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/three-dictatorships-in-latin-america-on-international-human-rights-day/

16/12/2019

The sanction imposed by the United States on Distribuidora Nicaragüense de Petróleos SA (DNP) and its subsidiary Inversiones Zanzibar, has been a blow to the Ortega-Murillo family, since for the last ten years the oil company earned some US$426 million dollars in profits, according to calculations made by César Arévalo, a market specialist. DNP is a business that had been run by Yadira Leets Marín, ex-wife of Rafael Ortega Murillo, eldest son of the power couple Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. [ 165 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/ortega-family-business-dnp-made-a-profit-of-426-million-in-a-decade/

16/12/2019

Some people love to travel, and some are perfectly happy to stay exactly where they are. We may have our favorite place on Earth to live already picked out, just like we sometimes already know where we would like to go, if only for a vacation. As far as holiday destinations go, many of us would gladly choose some paradise location, if given the opportunity. [ 325 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/why-do-we-travel-to-paradise-destinations/

05/12/2019

U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, highlighted on Monday the pressure exerted by the Trump administration on the administration of President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua, which has been the target of several sanctions for human rights violations. "The United States is taking action to restore democracy in Nicaragua," Pompeo wrote on Twitter, where he noted that 10 senior Ortega government were sanctioned in the last year since the signing of an executive order that enables retaliatory measures. [ 192 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/pompeo-said-the-us-will-maintain-pressure-on-ortega-until-liberties-are-restored-in-nicaragua/

05/12/2019

At the White House on Wednesday, Lucia Pineda met with U.S. Vice-president Mike Pence, giving him a bracelet made by a former political prisoner. "I told him that every time he saw the bracelet, he will remember that there are prisoners in Nicaragua who need the support of the United States to obtain their freedom,' said Pineda. Miguel Mora, who accompanied Lucia, detailed the state of repression in Nicaragua, the lack of freedoms, murders, persecutions. [ 45 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/lucia-pineda-meets-with-u-s-vp-pence-at-white-house/

25/11/2019

A new symbol of struggle was born in the immediacy of social networks. These are water bottles, which for the self-organized movement represents solidarity and resistance. It emerged as a result of the imprisonment of 16 activists on the night of November 14, after they attempted to bring water to people who the day before started a hunger strike inside the San Miguel church in Masaya. [ 112 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/water-becomes-a-symbol-of-struggle-in-nicaragua/

A new symbol of struggle was born in the immediacy of social networks. These are water bottles, which for the self-organized movement represents solidarity and resistance. It emerged as a result of…

25/11/2019

The Ortega government’s use of repressive tactics to prevent hunger strikes should prompt increased international efforts to demand accountability for abuses in Nicaragua, Human Rights Watch said today. On November 14, 2019, mothers of people detained in the context of the 2018 crackdown began a hunger strike inside the San Miguel Arcángel Church in Masaya, Nicaragua, to demand the release of their children and more than 130 other detainees. [ 718 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/cruel-response-to-hunger-strikes/

The Ortega government’s use of repressive tactics to prevent hunger strikes should prompt increased international efforts to demand accountability for abuses in Nicaragua, Human Rights Watch said t…

25/11/2019

(Confidencial) Desperation and fear began to spread among the fourteen persons blockaded into the San Miguel Church in Masaya on Friday morning. Their reserves of water and oral rehydration solution had run out, as well as medicine for the parish priest, Father Edwin Roman, who suffers from diabetes. It was the priest himself who asked the group to suspend their hunger strike. [ 850 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/hunger-strikers-to-continue-fight-for-their-relatives-freedom/

18/11/2019

The Blue and White National Unity reported on Friday morning the arbitrary detention of 13 persons carrying food to a group of mothers of political prisoners who remain on hunger strike in a church in the city of Masaya. The Ortega police had previously surrounded the mothers, together with a group of supporters and the priest Edwin Roman, inside the temple of San Miguel Arcangel, cutting off the supply of drinking water and electricity. [ 56 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/mass-arrests-return-to-nicaragua-at-beseiged-church-in-masaya/

18/11/2019

Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega spoke out last Friday against the private sector and minimized the closure of companies affected by the crisis which has engulfed the country since April 2018. In a party activity that all of the country’s radio and television stations were obligated to transmit, Ortega criticized the private companies, claiming that they demand to be exonerated from taxes in order to “always maintain large profits”. “Some (of the companies) are failing? Let them fail!” he exclaimed, reported Confidencial.com.ni.
http://todaynicaragua.com/let-them-fail-daniel-ortegas-response-to-companies-in-crisis/

18/11/2019

Speaking on an official government TV program, former Sandinista guerrilla commander Eden Pastora said the FSLN party should reactivate the Sandinista Congress to select a new candidate to relieve Daniel Ortega. In doing so he apparently seeks to push to the side the powerful First Lady and VP Rosario Murillo. “I would recommend,” Pastora said, that the Party Congress “tell us who the next candidate will be, our next leader when God sends our commander any fatality, a stroke, a serious illness, an old age within 10, 12 years, a certain death.” On Monday, November 11, Ortega turned 74 years old. [ 375 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/what-happens-if-daniel-ortega-falls-sick-or-dies/

18/11/2019

QCOSTARICA - "Goodbye Costa Rica, Nicaragua is the new great destination of Central America", is the headline in various publications, referring to the article (but not the title as it is inferred) published in Vogue magazine, Mexico and Latin America edition. The prestigious magazine dedicated an extensive publication to Nicaragua as the "new great destination" of Central America. Highlighting the paradisiacal beaches, Lake Nicaragua, the Apoyo lagoon, colonial cities (such as Granada or León), Unesco World Heritage Site, and a lush volcanic island with the status of Unesco Biosphere Reserve called Ometepe, often overlooked in favor of its southern neighboring, Vogue says that it is time to say goodbye to Costa Rica to notice its northern neighbor. [ 499 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/vogue-goodbye-costa-rica-nicaragua-is-the-new-great-destination/

06/11/2019

Tourism to Nicaragua is “recovering very rapidly” following the political unrest and subsequent travel ban by the British Foreign Office. Nicaragua’s minister of tourism, Anasha Campbell, in London speaking to TTG revealed tourism arrival figures were down by 29.7% year-on-year in 2018. However, forward bookings for October to December 2019 were up by 98% compared with 2018. Before the political crisis that began in April 2018 and the FCO travel ban, tourism numbers were flourishing, Campbell said. [ 249 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/tourism-is-bouncing-back-in-nicaragua/

Tourism to Nicaragua is “recovering very rapidly” following the political unrest and subsequent travel ban by the British Foreign Office. Nicaragua’s minister of tourism, Anasha Campbell, in London…

01/11/2019

Between the first semester of 2018 and the same period of 2019, the flows of Foreign Direct Investment reaching the country decreased by 25%, a decrease that is explained by the uncertainty that predominates among businessmen, derived from the political and economic crisis. According to official figures, from January to June of this year the country received $364 million in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), which is less than the $483 million received in the first six months of 2018. [ 132 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/uncertainty-discourages-investments-in-nicaragua/

17/10/2019

Decades ago, banana plantations around Central America sprayed a powerful pesticide with a terrible side effect: It sterilized workers on a mass scale. Thousands of victims have sought compensation ever since from the chemical companies that produced it. Now, some survivors and their families are suing three big chemical makers in France to recover hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid damages awarded to them by courts in Nicaragua, where many of the poisonings of banana workers occurred. [ 175 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/sterilized-nicaraguans-seek-compensation/

10/10/2019

Argentina, Bolivia and Uruguay will all hold presidential elections in October. And, for now, leftists are strong contenders in all three countries. This is a somewhat unexpected development. Beginning in 2015, conservatives toppled major leftist strongholds, including in Brazil, Argentina and Chile. The socially progressive Latin American left was declared dead many times over. But the left-leaning populist Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s victory in Mexico in July 2018 showed that Latin American political winds don’t all blow in the same direction. [ 959 more words ]
http://todaynicaragua.com/the-latin-american-left-isnt-dead-yet/