UN report calls for international action as Nicaragua's government deepens repression

FILE PHOTO: Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega attends the Alba summit, in Caracas, Venezuela April 24, 2024. REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/ File Photo

GENEVA (Reuters) - The United Nations has urged the international community to respond to what it called human rights violations by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's government as it seeks to further consolidate power, according to a report published on Wednesday.

Ortega, a former leftist rebel who initially came to power in 1979 and returned in 2007, has been extending his control by allowing his presidency to "coordinate" judicial and legislative duties as well as expanding state control over media.