Nicaragua’s Chamorro denounces “string of violations” in arrest of her former collaborators

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Nicaraguan presidential hopeful Cristiana Chamorro Barrios accused the Public Prosecutor’s Office and the National Police of committing a “a string of violations” in the detention of two of her former collaborators who, like her, are being investigated for a case of alleged money laundering.

Chamorro Barrios, daughter of former President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro (1990-1997), did not rule out that the authorities may also issue an arrest warrant against her.

“No possibility can be ruled out in the face of an arbitrary, authoritarian regime that violates the human rights of any citizen,” said in a press conference the journalist, who is the opposition figure with the highest probability of winning the November elections, in which President Daniel Ortega seeks a new reelection, according to a poll by the firm CID Gallup.

Walter Gómez and Marco Fletes, financial administrator and general accountant of the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation NGO, respectively, who, like Chamorro Barrios, are under investigation for alleged money laundering, were arrested Friday night at their homes, according to their relatives.

A judge of the criminal district court in Managua, Gloria Saavedra, granted the request of prosecutors for an extension to 90 days of the period in which to investigate the accused and ordered them to remain in detention.

LISTS VIOLATIONS BASED ON LAWS

“We have come to denounce the string of violations, of human rights abuses that Walter and Marcos are suffering,” said the presidential hopeful, accompanied by Gomez’s lawyers and family members.

“They were arrested at nightfall last Friday and were kidnapped without any accusation, and any judicial arrest warrant presented to them”, she affirmed.

She maintained that her two ex-collaborators “have had their right to defense violated”, under the argument that “they (prosecutors) went beyond the law by holding a hearing in secret without the presence of the defense lawyers, whom they had appointed.”

“They also violated their presumption of innocence. They had presumed the guilt of Walter and Marcos even when they voluntarily presented themselves before the Public Prosecutor’s Office and before public opinion, and have been presented as guilty,” she continued.

“They also violated their right to be informed of the charges against them. Up to now, there is no clear or truthful information on the facts that constitute the crime of money laundering that the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation is accused of, whose reports are all at the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” she added.

FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE NOT SEEN THE DETAINEES

Chamorro Barrios assured that none of those under investigation “have been advised either by the Prosecutor’s Office or by the National Police of the charges against them”.

“Both the Prosecutor’s Office and the Police have kept total secrecy about the causes of arbitrary detention against Walter and Marcos. It is unknown under what specific charges they are accused of at the time of the kidnapping, and no information was given to them or their families,” she said.

She also said that “their right to communicate with a family member or with a defense attorney of their choice within the first three hours is violated,” and that “neither their family members nor the defense attorneys have had any real information about their location.”

“They are completely incommunicado and isolated as a pressure mechanism and surely subjected to torture,” he added.

According to Chamorro Barrios, the authorities have also violated “their right to dignity” and pointed out that “the kidnapping was carried out with great violence and disregard for their dignity as human beings.”

Five former workers of that NGO, including Chamorro Barrios, plus the correspondent of the Hispanic network Univision in Nicaragua, María Lilly Delgado, are being investigated by the Attorney General’s Office for the alleged crime of laundering of money, goods, and assets to the detriment of Nicaraguan society and the State of Nicaragua.

According to the Ministry of the Interior, that NGO, which closed last February, “seriously failed to comply with its obligations before the Regulatory Entity and from the analysis of the Financial Statements, period 2015-2019, clear indications of money laundering were obtained”, for which reason “the Public Prosecutor’s Office has been informed to (open) the corresponding investigation.”