Political situation in Nicaragua

30,000 wearing ski masks to become “volunteer police”

Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega on Wednesday evening swore in 30,000 civilians who will act as “volunteer police.” The recruits were paraded in front of Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo at a ceremony in the capital, Managua. They were all dressed in black pants, white T-shirts and ski masks that covered their faces, AFP reports.

The opposition, but also a group of UN human rights experts, fear that the new police force will be used for political repression.

Ortega recently gave himself and his wife full control of the state apparatus, and Rosario Murillo was also appointed “co-president.”
UN report: Last brakes are off in Nicaragua

The state and the leading Sandinista party have merged into a “united machine of repression,” a panel of UN experts warns, according to the AP.

The last checks and balances were removed in January when President Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo assumed absolute power over the state. The couple have a “systematic strategy to cement total control over the country through serious human rights abuses,” the experts said in a statement:

“Ortega and Murillo control a vast intelligence apparatus that monitors the population and selects targets.”