managua: A few thousand of the Sandinista political machine's supporters rallied on Saturday to celebrate the expulsion of 222 opposition leaders, activists, priests, students, and journalists.
The government has recently prohibited the opposition from holding the kind of peaceful public protest that marchers carried out while waving the red and black flags of the Sandinista National Liberation Front.
We are marching, celebrating our sovereignty, defending our sovereignty, and telling the Yankee empire that we are here to stay. Lizbeth Chávez, carrying a portrait of Vice President and First Lady Rosario Murillo, declared as much.
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The sudden decision to fly 222 detained opposition members to Washington on Thursday was, according to President Daniel Ortega, Murillo's idea. The ruling couple referred to the detainees as "terrorists," saying that they were supported by the American government and aimed to topple their government.
The Sandinista government passed a constitutional amendment that would have stripped the prisoners of their Nicaraguan citizenship while the plane was still in the air.
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They were all granted humanitarian parole by the US, allowing them to stay and work there for two years while also requesting asylum. The government of Spain offered each person citizenship.
After years of intransigence from Ortega, who insisted he asked for nothing in return, U.S. officials described the widespread release as a positive development. The United States and Europe have tightened sanctions against Ortega's family, friends, and government officials.
The defiant display One day prior, on Saturday, a Nicaraguan judge had sentenced Catholic Bishop Rolando Lvarez, a vocal opponent of the government, to 26 years in prison on a number of counts, including spreading false information and undermining the government.
On Thursday morning, Lvarez was waiting to board the aircraft when he decided not to fly out of Nicaragua. The following day, he was sentenced to prison. The Catholic hierarchy in Nicaragua didn't say anything on Saturday.
Donal Manuel Mendoza walked through the crowd at the march on Saturday. He declared, "We are marching because we have vanquished the imperial mercenary force. "We have expelled them from the nation."