Once again, the prison gates of the Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo regime were unlocked at dawn to release political prisoners. This time, as the sun rose on September 5, 135 members of the opposition to the Sandinista administration among them, religious evangelicals, Catholic laypeople, students and activists were released from their cells and driven to Managua's international airport, where a plane chartered by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' government was waiting to take them to Guatemala towards not just liberty, but the start of their exile.
The scene was similar to that of February 9, 2023, when an operation that liberated 222 former political prisoners - the principal leaders of the opposition and former presidential hopefuls - was carried out in total secrecy. The main difference with the September release is that the 135 individuals were not brought to the United States, but to Guatemala, where President Bernardo Arevalo's administration received them at La Aurora international airport.
According to Eric Jacobstein, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affair, the political prisoners received medical attention on the plane. We did find them generally in very good health and spirits. These individuals came off the plane saying 'God bless America,' 'God bless Guatemala' - extremely grateful, he said at the press conference.
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