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☆ Alfonso Chardy, Who Helped Expose Iran-Contra Scandal, Dies at 72
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-24 | by ( Sam Roberts | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Alfonso Chardy, whose methodical reporting ushered The Miami Herald to a Pulitzer Prize for exposing the Iran-contra scandal in 1986 and contributed to three other Pulitzers that the newspaper won, died on April 9 in a Miami hospital. The cause was a heart attack, said his wife, Siobhan T. Morrisey. Mr. Chardy was instrumental in uncovering a link between the illegal sale of weapons to Iran orchestrated by senior Reagan administration officials to facilitate the release of Western hostages, and the covert diversion of proceeds from that sale to support right-wing rebels in Nicaragua known as the contras. The Westerners were being held in Lebanon by the Iranian-supported militant group Hezbollah. In Nicaragua, the contras were battling the leftist Sandinista government.

Persons: Alfonso Chardy, Siobhan T, Chardy, Reagan, Oliver L Organizations: Miami Herald, Sandinista Locations: Iran, Miami, Nicaragua, Lebanon, Iranian

The fear of the ongoing crackdown by President Daniel Ortega – on the Catholic Church in particular but not sparing evangelicals – has become so pervasive that it is silencing criticism of the authoritarian government and even mentions of the repression from the pulpit. Her work recording hundreds of instances of church persecution recently won her an International Religious Freedom Award from the U.S. State Department. “If it’s dangerous to pray the rosary in the street, it is exceedingly so to report attacks,” Molina said. Despite the growing fear, many faithful continue to attend church services – where they remain available. “The dictatorship, what it wants is to completely eliminate the Catholic faith, because they haven’t succeeded in making the church kneel before them,” Molina said.

Persons: Daniel Ortega –, –, ”, Martha Patricia Molina, ” Molina, ’, Ortega, Nicaragua’s, ” Ortega, Rosario Murillo, Alicia Quiñones, It’s, Molina, Mother Teresa’s, didn’t, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, Silvio Báez, Pope Francis, Dolly Mora, “ It’s, they’re, “, haven’t, Nicole Winfield Organizations: MIAMI, Central American, Catholic Church, U.S . State Department, Associated Press, “, . government’s, PEN International, Ortega’s Sandinista, Liberation, University of Central America, Jesuit, Vatican, AP, Lilly Endowment Inc Locations: Nicaragua, Nicaraguan, United States, Americas, America, –, Rome, Managua’s, Miami, ”

The Nicaraguan authorities said on Sunday that they had released 19 clergymen who had been jailed and handed them over to the Vatican, the latest development in the autocratic government’s longstanding persecution of the Roman Catholic Church. Among those set free was Bishop Rolando Álvarez, one of the most prominent critics of the government left in Nicaragua, who had been convicted of treason and sentenced to 26 years in prison last February. Another bishop, Isidoro Mora, 15 priests and two seminarians were also released. Silvio Báez, a Nicaraguan bishop in exile in the United States, celebrated the news in a Sunday Mass in Miami on Sunday, saying that “the criminal Sandinista dictatorship” of President Daniel Ortega “has not been able to overcome the power of God.”The release came after Pope Francis drew attention to the attacks on the church in his New Year’s Day address, telling the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square that he was “following with concern what is happening in Nicaragua, where bishops and priests have been deprived of their freedom.”

Persons: Bishop Rolando Álvarez, Isidoro Mora, Silvio Báez, Daniel Ortega “, Pope Francis, ” Organizations: Roman Catholic Church, Sandinista Locations: Nicaragua, Nicaraguan, United States, Miami, St

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nicaraguan police said Friday they want to arrest the director of the Miss Nicaragua pageant, accusing her of intentionally rigging contests so that anti-government beauty queens would win the pageants as part of a plot to overthrow the government. It all started Nov. 18, when Miss Nicaragua, Nicaragua’s Sheynnis Palacios won the Miss Universe competition. Ortega claimed the protests were an attempted coup with foreign backing, aiming for his overthrow. It didn't help that many ordinary Nicaraguans — who are largely forbidden to protest or carry the national flag in marches — took advantage of the Miss Universe win as a rare opportunity to celebrate in the streets. Palacios, who became the first Nicaraguan to win Miss Universe, has not commented on the situation.

Persons: Karen Celebertti, James Bond, Nicaragua’s Sheynnis Palacios, Daniel Ortega, Palacios, Ortega, Nicaraguans, Celebertti “, Celebertti, ”, —, “, Palacio's, Lady Rosario Murillo, Palacios ’, ” Murillo Organizations: MEXICO CITY, —, Miss, Facebook, National Police, Sandinista, Jesuit University of Central, Nicaraguan Locations: MEXICO, Miss Nicaragua, Jesuit University of Central America, Nicaragua

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nicaragua's increasingly isolated and repressive government thought it had scored a rare public relations victory last week when Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios won the Miss Universe competition. Ordinary Nicaraguans — who are largely forbidden to protest or carry the national flag in marches — took advantage of the Saturday night Miss Universe win as a rare opportunity to celebrate in the streets. Palacios' victory — along with photos she posted on Facebook in 2018 of herself participating in the protests — overjoyed Nicaragua's opposition. Thousands have fled into exile since Nicaraguan security forces violently put down mass anti-government protests in 2018. Palacios, who became the first Nicaraguan to win Miss Universe, has not commented on the situation.

Persons: —, Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios, Daniel Ortega's, Palacios, Nicaraguans —, Nicaragua's, Silvio Báez, ” Báez, Lady Rosario Murillo, “, ” Murillo, Ortega, Ortega's Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Miss Nicaragua, Miss, Sandinista, Facebook, Jesuit University of Central, Nicaraguan Locations: MEXICO, North Korea, Jesuit University of Central America, Nicaragua, America, Caribbean

☆ After Taking Away Critics’ Citizenship, a Country Takes Their Houses
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-26 | by ( Frances Robles | More About Frances Robles | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The campaign is a throwback to the leftist party’s first time in office in the 1980s, when the Sandinistas expropriated homes, setting off yearslong legal disputes. Mr. Ortega was beaten at the ballot box in 1990 but after changes to the constitution that made it possible for him to win, Mr. Ortega reclaimed the presidency in 2007. He spent the next decade chipping away at the country’s democracy by interfering with the National Assembly, elections and the Supreme Court. Tens of thousands of people rose up against Mr. Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, in 2018, accusing them of becoming exactly what they had once fought against: leaders of a dictatorial family dynasty. The move to start seizing properties in recent days follows the confiscation of a prominent Jesuit university and the arrests of several priests.

Persons: party’s, Daniel Ortega, Ortega, Rosario Murillo Organizations: Sandinista, National Assembly, Jesuit, Harvard University

☆ A Nicaraguan Novelist Betrayed by the Revolution He Helped Build
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-01 | by ( Benjamin P. Russell | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Sergio Ramírez has been forced into exile twice; once for his role in a revolution and once after writing, in a work of fiction, about what that revolution became. “When it comes to suppressing freedom and exercising absolute power, the distance between left and right is erased,” Ramírez said. “They want the same things.”It’s not hard to see why authoritarians of varying stripes might want Ramírez to just go away. Ramírez was an intellectual leader of the Nicaraguan revolution that ousted the right wing dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979. He is also the prizewinning author of dozens of novels, short story collections and works of nonfiction.

Persons: Sergio Ramírez, he’s, ” Ramírez, “, ” It’s, Ramírez, Anastasio Somoza Organizations: Sandinista National Liberation Front Locations: Nicaraguan

☆ Nicaragua freezes bank accounts of top university led by Jesuits - source
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Ismael Lopez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Aug 9 (Reuters) - Nicaraguan authorities froze the bank accounts of the country's top private university, a source from the institution told Reuters, marking the latest move against a Catholic-led institution in an ongoing crackdown by the government. The Jesuit-run Central American University (UCA) is the alma mater of many youth leaders who protested the government of President Daniel Ortega in 2018, which were initially triggered by old-age pension cuts. Earlier on Wednesday, digital news outlet Divergentes reported that UCA officials sent an email to staff and students advising that they were not receiving any payments due to reasons beyond their control. In May, authorities also froze bank accounts belonging to Catholic parishes across the country as prosecutors launched what they called a money laundering investigation. The university had already been singled out for budget cuts and its leaders targeted, including UCA rector and Jesuit priest Jose Idiaquez who last year was barred from returning to Nicaragua after traveling to Mexico.

Persons: Daniel Ortega, Bishop Rolando Alvarez, Ortega, Jose Idiaquez, Ismael Lopez, Sarah Morland, David Alire Garcia, Michael Perry Organizations: Nicaraguan, Reuters, Catholic, Central American University, UCA, Sandinista, Thomson Locations: Nicaragua, Mexico

☆ In title bout, 'Chocolatito' fights for Nicaragua leader Daniel Ortega
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Drazen Jorgic | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +8 min

Two years later, the wealthy Coen family contracted Gonzalez to promote their Grupo Coen conglomerate in three world title fights in exchange for a house worth $150,000. Gonzalez's relationship with Grupo Coen also fractured. In 2019, he sued Grupo Coen after it refused to pay the boxer, claiming he didn't contest enough world title fights to fullfil his contract. This year, the courts awarded an extra $150,000 to Gonzalez against Grupo Coen, according to court documents seen by Reuters. Grupo Coen declined to comment.

☆ Biden targets Nicaragua’s gold in new move against President Daniel Ortega
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

Previous rounds of sanctions have focused on Ortega, his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, and members of their family and inner circle. Together with the Treasury Department’s simultaneous sanctioning of Nicaragua’s General Directorate of Mines, the order all but makes it illegal for Americans to do business with Nicaragua’s gold industry. The Biden administration’s targeting of the gold industry could sap Ortega’s government of one of its biggest sources of revenue. According to Nicaragua’s Central Bank, the country exported a record 348,532 ounces of gold in 2021 and the country’s mining association projects exports totaling 500,000 ounces in 2023. Nicaraguans began fleeing their country in 2018, initially to neighboring Costa Rica, after Ortega violently put down massive street protests.

☆ In Nicaragua, families of jailed opposition leaders fear for their relatives' lives
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

MEXICO CITY — Families of four well-known opposition figures jailed in Nicaragua fear for their relatives’ lives because of bad conditions at the infamous El Chipote prison. Among the prisoners is former Sandinista rebel commander Dora María Téllez, 65. “We fear that they may die inside that torture center,” the relatives of Téllez and three other inmates said in a statement Monday. They said prison authorities have threatened not to give the inmates bottles of drinking water that relatives supply themselves. Hugo Torres, a former Sandinista guerrilla leader who once led a raid that helped free then rebel Ortega from prison, died while awaiting trial.

☆ The Tucker Carlson origin story
▼ + stars: | 1998-01-28 | by ( Aaron Short | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +57 min

Tucker Carlson is remembered as a provocateur and gleeful contrarian by those who knew him in his early days. It was Tucker Carlson. (Note on style: Tucker Carlson and the members of his family are referred to here by their first names to avoid confusion.) In 1979, Richard Carlson married Patricia Swanson, heiress to the Swanson frozen foods empire that perfected the frozen Salisbury steak for hassle-free dinners. Tucker Carlson attended St. George’s School, a boarding school starting at age 14.

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