Nicaragua frees 222 political prisoners to the U.S.

https://www.npr.org/2023/02/09/ [login to see] /nicaragua-political-prisoners-freed
More than 200 political prisoners were released by Nicaraga this morning. The 222 prisoners were put on an early morning flight to Washington and will arrive in the next few hours.

On state television a judge said the government had decided to "deport" the prisoners, saying they had been declared traitors and can never again serve public office.

A U.S. State Department spokesperson said Nicaragua made the decision "unilaterally," but that the United States had "facilitated the transportation" and the political prisoners would be admitted into the United States for "humanitarian reasons."

Ever since anti-government protests erupted in Nicaragua in 2018, President Daniel Ortega has unleashed violent repression. He has consolidated his power, thrown his political opponents in prison and hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans have fled.

Lawyers and family members of the prisoners say they were kept in horrific conditions. Some had spent many years in jail. Others were arrested in the run-up to the 2021 presidential elections.