presidential candidate of NicaraguaAccording to information provided by his team to Reuters, Arturo Cruz was detained this Saturday (5) at the airport in the country’s capital Managua on his return from a trip to the US.
The Nicaraguan Public Ministry said the investigation against Cruz was “based on strong evidence that he attacked Nicaraguan society”, but did not specify what the charges would be.
The country’s former ambassador to the US between 2007 and 2009, Cruz, who was once an aide to the current president Daniel Ortega, is a candidate for the Citizens Alliance for Freedom, a coalition of right-wing parties backed by businessmen.
Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro demanded that Cruz be released and said that “manipulating the security and justice forces to arrest opposition candidates” is “unacceptable”.
Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua, in photo at the country’s Independence Day, September 15, 2020 – Photo: Handout via Nicaragua Presidency/César Perez/Reuters
Cruz is not Ortega’s first opponent in the election, scheduled for november, to be arrested. On Wednesday (2), the police broke into the house of Christian Chamorro, daughter of former President Violet Barrios de Chamorro (elected in 1990, defeating Ortega) and recognized as the opposition candidate most likely to win the controversy; He is accused of money laundering and is under house arrest.
Ortega has been in power since 2007 and is seeking re-election for the third time in a row. Before that, he ruled Nicaragua between 1985 and 1990.
