Nicaragua police arrest manager of newspaper critical of president

A delivery man shows La Prensa, Nicaragua’s only print newspaper, which will no longer issue a print edition complaining that the administration of President Daniel Ortega was withholding the paper it uses for publishing, in Managua, Nicaragua August 12, 2021. The front page reads: “Dictatorship withholds our paper, but cannot hide the truth.” REUTERS FILE PHOTO

Nicaraguan police on Saturday arrested the general manager of newspaper La Prensa, a day after raiding its offices and accusing the publication, which is a trenchant critic of President Daniel Ortega, of customs fraud and money laundering.

In a statement, national police said it had arrested Juan Hollman Chamorro for customs fraud, as well as laundering money, property and assets, adding to a mounting crackdown against the paper and other critics of the Ortega administration.

A day before Friday’s raid on La Prensa, the paper said it was no longer able to put out a print edition because the government was withholding paper from it.

On Friday night, Ortega had accused the newspaper of “lies, slander, defamation, money laundering and not paying taxes.”

His government’s attacks against the opposition and critics have left Ortega increasingly isolated internationally.

Ortega, a former Marxist guerrilla and erstwhile Cold War antagonist of the United States, is seeking to secure a fourth consecutive term in power in elections due in November.

La Prensa is controlled by the Chamorro family, some of whom are longtime adversaries of Ortega. Following the arrest of the general manager, four members of the family are now in custody.