Chile proposes granting residency and citizenship to Nicaraguan opponents expelled by Daniel Ortega

Government Chile said on Tuesday it was offering Chilean residency and citizenship to more than 300 adversaries “unfairly emigrated” to Nicaragua, including writers Sergio Ramirez and Gioconda Belli.

“The government of Chile will take the necessary legal steps to offer them adequate international protection that will allow them to reside in the country and acquire Chilean citizenship in accordance with the constitutional and legal rules that govern it,” the Chilean Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Chile is the country in the region that most strongly condemned the regime led by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, and with the decision announced on Tuesday, joins Spain as the second country to formally offer naturalization to Nicaraguan adversaries.

“The Chilean government is providing this alternative to those who were unjustly expelled from Nicaragua and voluntarily chose to use it,” the statement said.

In recent days, the Nicaraguan authorities have stripped at least 317 people of citizenship for criticizing Ortega, who also ordered the deportation of 222 former political prisoners from the country, who were released and flown to the United States on February 9 on charges of “treason against the fatherland.”

Stateless people include Ramirez and Belli, both exiled to Spain, as well as journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro, feminist Sofia Montenegro and legendary former guerrilla Dora Maria Telles.

“The history of our country has taught us that the defense of democracy and human rights, as well as international solidarity between peoples, go beyond political situations and are part of the basic civilizational standards of life in society,” the Chilean government concluded in a statement.

Little Hispanic Power

Except ChileSo far, the progressive governments of Latin America have not unanimously condemned the cases of stateless Nicaraguans.

Colombia and Mexico have reacted cautiously, Brazil has remained silent, and Argentina slipped on Tuesday that it is “ready” to grant citizenship to anyone who asks for it, but without a firm offer.

In a message on his Twitter account, Chilean President Gabriel Boric on Saturday sent “a fraternal hug to Gioconda (Belli), Sergio (Ramirez), Sofia (Montenegro), Carlos (Fernando Chamorro) and all those whom Ortega demanded to undress. their Nicaraguan citizenship.”

“The dictator does not know,” alluding to Ortega- That the Motherland is carried in the heart and in deeds, and not deprived by decree. You are not alone!” added the president, who has repeatedly spoken out about the abuses and repression of the regime in Nicaragua.

Chilean Foreign Minister Antonia Urrecola was also very critical of the deterioration of democracy in the Central American country when she chaired the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in 2021.

On the same social network, Ramirez, former vice president of Nicaragua and 2007 Cervantes Prize winner, thanked Boric “for representing dignity and integrity without being silent about Nicaragua”, while the poet Belli, author of “Woman of Habit”, praised him for “being consistent and upholding the rule of law and democratic demands in Nicaragua and Latin America.” (EFE)