It would be the daughter and wife of Javier Alvarez, an opponent in exile to the government of President Daniel Ortega. The Quai d’Orsay follows “closely the situation of our two compatriots“.
Two women with dual French and Nicaraguan nationality, whose relative was wanted, were arrested on Tuesday 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 Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated “closely monitor 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 spokesperson for the French ministry. The NGO also reported the arrest of Felix Roiz, the husband of Ana Alvarez Horvilleur.
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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.
In an interview broadcast on Saturday by the Nicaraguan internet media in exile 100% NoticiasJavier Alvarez said he was currently in Costa Rica and expressed his indignation and concern for those close to him.
Javier Alvarez claimed his opposition to the government of President Daniel Ortega but he denied being an active activist. 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’m not going to return to Nicaragua… My life is in danger (…) there is an action directed specifically against me, I don’t 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.
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Daniel 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 Daniel 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, Daniel Ortega was re-elected for a fourth consecutive term after a ballot from which all his major opponents were absent, these having been arrested or forced into exile.