This is the second in a two-part series covering resistance to the policies of the Nicaraguan government. You can hear the first story as part of Texas Standard’s Thanksgiving Day broadcast.
The United States is threatening sanctions against Nicaragua in response to alleged electoral fraud and human rights abuses. More than 300 people have been killed since April. Hundreds of others, many of them college students, are in jail. The chaos is triggering a large-scale flight with human rights workers in Nicaragua’s capital, Managua. They say that at least 1,000 Nicaraguans are either applying or planning to apply to come legally to the U.S.
The people often chant ‘Democracy yes, dictatorship no!’ In scenes replayed across Nicaragua. Unarmed citizens lead anti-government protests over corruption and repression, that have repeatedly been met by police violence. The international community has condemned Nicaragua but the cycle continues.
Today, the death toll stands at more than 300. The U.N. and governments from Europe to the Americas blame the regime of President Daniel Ortega. His police are now hunting for dissidents, especially students who initially triggered the protest movement.