Two women with dual French and Nicaraguan nationality, whose relative was wanted, were arrested on Tuesday (September 13th) by Nicaraguan police, said a Nicaraguan NGO in exile in Costa Rica.
“Jeannine Horvilleur Cuadra, 63, and her daughter Ana Alvarez Horvilleur, 43, both of Nicaraguan and French nationality, were arrested” last Tuesday, according to a statement from Nicaragua Nunca mas (Nicaragua never again) who works from neighboring Costa Rica.
On Saturday, the French foreign ministry said “closely follow the situation of our two compatriots” and to have “contacted the Nicaraguan authorities”. « The embassy is fully mobilized, in conjunction with the consular post in Costa Rica,” added the spokeswoman for the French ministry.
The NGO also reported the arrest of Mr. Felix Roiz, the husband of Ana Alvarez Horvilleur. This information has not been confirmed by the Nicaraguan authorities.
According to the NGO, the police broke into the home of the two women in search of their husband and father, Javier Alvarez. But he had already fled for reasons not specified by the NGO. The two women were then arrested and taken away, in retaliation, according to Nicaragua Nunca Mas.
200 opponents of the Ortega regime imprisoned
In an interview broadcast on Saturday by the Nicaraguan internet media in exile 100% News, Mr. Javier Alvarez indicated that he was currently in Costa Rica and expressed his indignation and concern for his relatives. Mr. Alvarez claimed his opposition to the government of President Daniel Ortega but he denied being an active militant.
According to him, the authorities demanded that he give himself up in exchange for the release of his wife, daughter and son-in-law, imprisoned, he said, in the much feared El Chipote prison in Managua. “I am not going to return to Nicaragua… My life is in danger (…) there is an action directed specifically against me, I do not understand why”did he declare.
At least 200 opponents and critics of President Daniel Ortega’s government are currently imprisoned in Nicaragua on charges of ” treason “ and D’“undermining the sovereignty of the country”according to human rights organizations and relatives of detainees.
Mr. Ortega, a 76-year-old former guerrilla in power since 2007, accuses his opponents of having fomented a coup attempt in 2018 with the support of Washington. That year, demonstrations demanding the resignation of Mr. Ortega and his wife and vice-president Rosario Murillo were bloodily repressed. The unrest killed more than 350 people, mostly opponents, according to international human rights organizations.
In November 2021, Mr. Ortega was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term after of a ballot from which all his strong opponents were absent, these having been arrested or forced into exile.