Former Nicaraguan presidential hopeful Felix Maradiaga, one of the more than 200 freed political prisoners from Nicaragua, is embraced by a supporter after arriving in the United States at Dulles International Airport in Northern Virginia near Washington, U.S., February 9, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
(Reuters) - Presidential contenders, Catholic clergy and a leading student activist were among the more than 200 people released from Nicaraguan prison cells or house arrest late Wednesday and then flown to the United States on Thursday.
Here are some of the prominent Nicaraguans freed:
Felix Maradiaga and Juan Sebastian Chamorro
Leading presidential hopefuls Maradiaga and Chamorro were arrested in 2021 while each was preparing to run against Ortega. They were later each sentenced to 13 years for "conspiracy to undermine national integrity," and held in what their lawyer described as "horrific conditions."
Cristiana Chamorro and Pedro Joaquin Chamorro
Cristiana Chamorro was placed under house arrest in 2021, just as she was leading Ortega in polls to unseat him as president at elections. Her brother Pedro Joaquin Chamorro was also arrested and jailed the same month, according to newspaper La Prensa. Both were accused of financial crimes. The two are children of former President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, who beat Ortega in the 1990 elections to end his first term.
Arturo Cruz
An academic who was Nicaragua's ambassador to the United States between 2007 and 2009, Cruz was arrested in 2021 after returning to Managua from Washington. The former Ortega ally was a presidential candidate for a coalition of right-wing parties supported by prominent businessmen.
Medardo Mairena
The presidential hopeful was detained along with two other farmworker leaders in 2021, and accused of crimes including murder and kidnapping during anti-government protests in 2018 that led to more than 300 deaths. Under an amnesty law, he was released in 2019 after a second stint in detention, as authorities dropped the terrorism, murder and organized crime charges he faced.
Lesther Aleman
University student Aleman publicly berated Ortega and called for his resignation during a nationally televised event with the leader in 2018. Like Mairena, he was arrested in 2021 over accusations of crimes during the 2018 protests.
Juan Lorenzo Chamorro
A prominent journalist who led newspaper La Prensa, Chamorro was arrested in 2021, a day after police raided the paper's offices, and accused him of fraud and money laundering. He was sentenced to nine years in prison.
Michael Healy
The top executive with leading business association COSEP, Healy is a dual U.S.-Nicaraguan citizen and was also a member of an opposition political group. He was arrested along with COSEP's vice president in 2021, and accused of money laundering and of calling for foreign intervention and sanctions against Nicaragua.
Rolando Alvarez
A prominent Nicaraguan Catholic bishop who sharply criticized Ortega, Alvarez was arrested last August along with other priests after they had barricaded themselves inside church property. Alvarez, the bishop of Matagalpa, was accused of undermining national integrity and spreading false news, and was set to go to trial later this month. On Thursday, he declined to board the plane to Washington, preferring to stay home instead, one of only two prisoners to do so.
(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Alistair Bell)
