BriefingThe Americas

Nicaragua’s ‘Witch Hunt’ Raises Electoral Concerns

Nicaragua’s ‘Witch Hunt’ Raises Electoral Concerns

MANAGUA, Nicaragua - A government probe of political dissidents and journalists has caused violent clashes in Nicaragua and concern abroad as the country heads into municipal elections Nov. 9.

A statement by U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Wood criticized Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's verbal attacks against opponents, as well as police raids against two non-governmental organizations in what Ortega's critics say is a wide-reaching "witch hunt" against the opposition.

The European Union, a group of former presidents of the Americas led by Jimmy Carter, Human Rights Watch and the Paris-based Reporters without Borders all released statements in recent weeks expressing similar concerns. In an open letter to Ortega, Reporters without Borders Secretary-General Jean-François Julliard condemned the ". . . sharp decline in the state of public freedoms in your country."

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