Nicaraguan authorities arrests dozens for reportedly supporting Maduro capture | Nicaragua

Authorities in Nicaragua have arrested at least 60 people who reportedly celebrated or expressed support for the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, a human rights watchdog group and local media outlets said Friday.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his vice-presidential wife, Rosario Murillo, are staunch allies of Maduro, who was captured by US military personnel in Caracas last Saturday and taken to New York to stand trial on drug and weapons charges.

The NGO Blue and White Monitor, which compiles reports on human rights violations in Nicaragua, said in a post on

The group said 49 people were detained “without information about their legal status” on Friday, nine people were released and three people were temporarily detained.

“This new wave of repression is being carried out without a judicial order and is based solely on comments on social media, private celebrations or expressions of opinion that do not echo official propaganda,” the group said.

According to Confidencial, a Nicaraguan newspaper published outside the country, the arrests took place under a “state of warning” that included surveillance in neighborhoods and social media on Murillo’s orders after Maduro’s capture.

Another local newspaper, La Prensa, said that the arrests were made due to posts made in favor of the US operation.

This came a day after Donald Trump claimed he was calling off a second wave of attacks on Venezuela because it was cooperating with the US on oil infrastructure and freeing political prisoners.

The US president said authorities in Caracas had released “a large number” of prisoners and canceled the planned military operation, acknowledging that they were “seeking peace”.

Trump did not provide details about the alleged plan for new attacks, but said the US navy would remain in the Caribbean, leaving Washington with the opportunity to attack Venezuela at short notice.