Nicaragua attacks critical media, silencing news channel
December 22, 2018
The station's director Miguel Mora was shown alone in court without a lawyer on Saturday. In a tweet 100 percent Noticias reported that when he was taken by police he told his wife: "We'll get out of this. Let's trust in God."
In a statement, 100 percent Noticias said press chief Lucia Pineda Ubau, controller Gustavo Cerner, a driver Joseph Hernandez and two VISENIC security guards were also taken by police on Friday night.
"They did not come with any written orders. They arrived shouting. It seemed like they were out to capture an army," 100 percent Noticias' exective director and Mora's wife, Veronica Chavez said on Saturday. She blamed Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo for the police action.
Chavez said police destroyed equipment and disconnected master control cables to prevent transmission. They then went to Mora's office and took him away in handcuffs.
The New York based Committee to Protect journalists called for authorities to "immediately release the journalists detained following the raid on 100 percent Noticias and end their repressive campaign against the independent media."
Mora had been accused by Ortega's supporters of generating hate during months of anti-government protests.
Critical press in the crossfire
Since April, a bloody government crackdown on anti-Ortega protesters has led to the deaths of more than 325 people, with more than 2,000 injured. The demonstrations had started over changes to social programs and pensions which later expanded into a challenge to Ortega's presidency.
The deaths caused 100 percent Noticias to add a black ribbon to the screen during broadcasts to represent those who have been killed.
Nicaragua's broadcasting regulator also ordered cable operators to suspend the 100 percent Noticias' signal from their platforms. It was previously forced off air in April but was later allowed to return.
Confidencial newspaper also targeted
Carlos Fernando Chamorro, a prominent journalist and the son of a former president, said police stormed his offices on both Thursday and Friday nights.
Chamorro is an outspoken critic of Ortega and runs the Confidencial newspaper. He said his journalists have been beaten up by hooded people and a camera was stolen.
Chamorro himself has been vilified as a putschist. He said the most recent police action was part of increasingly authoritarian efforts to purge the country of dissent.
Read more: Anti-Ortega protests in Nicaragua: Torture, blacklists and job dismissals
The president's wife as media mogul
Over the last ten years, Rosario Murillo, the vice president of Nicaragua and Ortega's wife, has bought up critical media companies, allegedly with Venezuelan development funds, to prevent the media "contaminating" public perception of his administration, according to Britain's The Guardian newspaper.
Several TV channels are now owned by Murillo's children, tightening her family's grip on the country's media. They also own a handful of radio stations and online news outlets.
The US government last month placed sanctions on Murillo in response to the ongoing crackdown by the Ortega government.
On Wednesday, Ortega's government expelled two missions of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights that were investigating violence during anti-government protests.
Read more: US sanctions Nicaragua's VP and first lady Rosario Murillo
kw/jm (AP, Reuters)