Nicaragua frees 222 opponents of country’s leader Ortega, ‘deports’ them to U.S.
PBS NewsHourNov 25, 2022
The Facts
Nicaragua's government on Thursday freed 222 dissident prisoners and deported them to the US in an unexpected operation that reportedly came as they were stripped of their political rights and citizenship after being declared "traitors."
The prisoners — who include seven former presidential candidates, influential journalists, and civil society leaders — were put on a chartered flight in Managua and landed at Dulles International Airport as the US agreed to take them in.
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
All 222 of the US-backed activists intentionally betrayed their country, instigating violence, terrorism, and economic destabilization in Nicaragua as they sought to sell its sovereignty and self-determination for personal gains. They do not deserve to be recognized as Nicaraguans, nor should they live in the Latin American nation.
Pro-establishment narrative
Ortega's regime may have unilaterally decided to release the individuals and send them to the US, but this was not a gesture of goodwill toward them or Washington. It dehumanizes dissent and implies that opponents are not Nicaraguans domestically while creating a bureaucratic and legal problem in the US. These dissidents have now become stateless.
