there was a knock on the door. I knew who it was.
Some friends warned me that they were coming. I was trying not to think too much about it. I felt that I was not enough in his list. He had already arrested the most vocal, public-interested government critics-human rights lawyers, opposition politicians etc. He was already in jail. Why will they come for me?
But they came for me.
In November 2022, I was arrested in my country Nikaragua. I was a student defender, participating in the conversation with major march and officials. The government accused me of terrorism and put me in jail. There, I was psychologically tortured, snatched my citizenship, and eventually deported in America
These days, when I read the stories of other students – Mahmud Khalil, Yonso Chung Or Rümeysa öztürkFor example – my thoughts essentially turn to my own experience. When i see Protest in Los Angeles meet with military forceI am reminded how President Daniel Ortga Answering our protestsWhen I heard that President Trump accused the protesters getting paidI remember when Ortga Said the same about me,
Throughout my life, I have seen the slow erosion of democratic institutions of my country; Since my arrival in America, I cannot help, but I can notice disturbing similarities here.
In Nicaragua, the first step was El pacto, Famous Sandinista Commandant Ortga of Nicaragua ruled for 10 years in the 1980s, but later lost three elections. One of the candidates who lost, Mana, former Mayor, Arnoldo Aleman, was eventually found guilty. Theft $ 100 million from poor country’s coffeers. On the verge of spending 20 years behind bars, he and Ortega, leaders opposing political parties, hit several deals, who allowed Ortega to return to power and Aleman to escape from prison time.
Is it very different from the Democratic Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, which, when a slam-dunk seemed to be like a corruption case, is being tried suddenly for the course. Help Trump’s exile schemes, only for justice department DarlingThis is another L Pacto , Just towards the north.
A major aspect of Ortega’s consolidation of power has been a war against the Nicaraguan University system. He first Restricted their autonomy Forcibly aligning its syllabus for the government’s ideologies and keeping the party loyal in the overcast posts. Not contrary to Trump administration Revision of federal funding For universities in the United States, the University of Nicaragua, the University of Nicaragua, also one of the country’s highest universities, also saw the government. Cut off Its funding.
Nicaraguan Constitution states that 6 percent The national budget should be distributed in universities. But when Ortga accused the UCA of supporting terrorism as its students participated in the 2018 nationwide rebellion, they disappeared. At the same time, students across the country canceled their scholarship. Finally, UCA and many Other universities Were Seized by the government.
Does it not have equality in the last few months in America?
We have seen reputed American universities Accused of terrorismtheir Federal money canceledAnd this Visa of many of his students was canceled, Demands The university built on Harvard asked to accept an unprecedented level of government control. Can private universities eventually be seized in the US, such as they are in Nicaragua?
University of Central America was a highly influential Catholic institution, but it was one of the several Catholic organizations that were attacked by the Nicaraguan government. Despite the fact that Catholic religion is an integral part of Nicaraguan national identity, Ortga considers Church as an opposition unit. He has accused it Money laundering And attacked Nicaraguan Bishop ConferenceTrying everyone faith By promoting priests, which correspond to their own ends.
Is it not far from the recent allegations of Vice President Vance that refugees were resumed for the Catholic Bishop’s US conference Financial objective Instead of human people?
Vance also called Religious concepts To justify immigration policies of administration. New York’s Cardinal Timothy Dolan called the allegations FalseLate Pope Francis publicly denied Vance’s theology One letter Bishop us. In a way reminiscent of oartega feedback Seven years ago for a Pope improvement, US border Czar Tom Homan Reactive Saying that the Pope should stay to fix the Catholic Church.
I would have to say, when Trump first came on a political scenario, I was attracted to his message: I imagined that he would be good for the economy, and he strongly spoke against dictators in Latin America. But now, dark similarities between leadership in Nicaragua and America have become undisputed.
I gradually disintegrate democracy in Nicaragua, one short step after another. I read about the merits of the back door, saw that universities attacked, and underestimated the Catholic Church’s religious rights. When I stood up for democracy, I was accused of terrorism and put in jail.
Now here, in the land of free, I am once again watching democracy in danger.
How many more will there be a knock on the doors?
The Miguel Flores is a Nicaraguan political exile, activist and democracy and human rights.
