Former Nicaraguan presidential candidate sentenced to prison

A Nicaraguan judge sentenced on Monday former presidential candidate Cristiana Chamorro to eight years in prison for money laundering and misusing funds in the regime’s latest attempt to crackdown on opposition members, Reuters reported. Chamorro’s brother, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, also received a sentence of nine years for the same crimes.

Chamorro, 68, claims that the move was politically motivated. Chamorro’s lawyer, who wished to remain anonymous, said there is no evidence that supports the charges. 

The siblings are children of former Nicaraguan President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, who defeated President Daniel Ortega in the 1990s election. Their father, Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, was assassinated in 1978 after opposing the Somoza dictatorship.

Chamorro’s lawyer said the accusations against the siblings come as the current regime is trying to tarnish the legacy of their mother and to eliminate all political opposition.

Prosecutors claim that Chamorro received millions of dollars through the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation to help destabilize the government. The foundation aims to promote freedom of the press.

Two other members of the foundation, administrator Walter Gomez and accountant Marcos Fletes, were also sentenced to 13 years in prison. As part of their sentence, Chamorro, Gomez, and Fletes were dealt two fines of $1.6 million and $1.56 million, reported CNN.

Chamorro was arrested in June 2021, along with six other presidential candidates running for the 2021 elections. Forty-six other opposition members were also arrested ahead of the November 2021 elections.

As a result, Ortega was re-elected for the fourth consecutive time. The international community has condemned the election as illegitimate. The European Parliament claimed the elections were rigged in favor of Ortega.

The accusations "show the Ortega regime is in crisis, that it can no longer govern and has nothing to offer Nicaraguans," said their brother Carlos Fernando Chamorro, who is in exile in Costa Rica.

“My brothers Pedro Joaquín and Cristiana Chamorro proclaim their innocence in the few minutes they had to speak before the assassins who executed the guilty verdict against them in the "trial" at the Chipote prison and defend the legacy of integrity of our parents,” tweeted their brother.

Mis hermanos Pedro Joaquín y Cristiana Chamorro proclaman su inocencia en los pocos minutos que tuvieron para hablar ante los sicarios ejecutores de sentencia de culpabilidad en su contra en "juicio" en la cárcel del Chipote y defienden el legado de integridad de nuestros padres.

— Carlos F Chamorro (@cefeche) March 12, 2022