A Holiday Nightmare
On Miguel Mendoza’s Twitter page, his family delivered his young daughter’s illustrated Christmas wish.
Many journalists and media workers in Latin America will spend Christmas in jail or house arrest, just for doing their jobs
Miguel Mendoza's Twitter account is still active.
Mendoza’s friends keep it alive, so no one forgets he has been in jail in Managua, Nicaragua, since June 21, 2021. A drawing on Mendoza’s Twitter page illustrates his 7-year-old daughter's Christmas wish. "Dad, I don't want a Christmas without you."
Mendoza is one of Nicaragua's most prominent sportswriters. He also used to express his political views on Twitter. And, for his criticism of the Ortega regime, he was abducted by police – accused this fall by government prosecutors of "conspiracy to undermine the nation's sovereignty," under the Law of Cybercrimes.
After 72 days, his wife Margin Pozo saw Mendoza for the first time since his detention and reported that he’d lost more than 20 pounds because of the harsh conditions for political prisoners in the El Nuevo Chipote facility. The 51-year-old Mendoza has diabetes. Yet, since his arbitrary arrest half a year ago, he has been visited only three times by a family member or a lawyer. No trial has been held. There has been no opportunity for Mendoza or his lawyer to protest the arrest or answer the conspiracy charge.
A Latin American crisis
Sportswriter Miguel Mendoza often opined on Nicaraguan politics on his Twitter feed. That was before his arrest earlier this year on charges of “conspiracy to undermine the nation’s sovereignty.”
Christmas is an important holiday in Latin America – a time for family and for sharing goodwill. But for many journalists and their families, it is instead a time of worry and lament about the health of the detained and a deteriorating freedom of expression.
In Cuba, where there has been no freedom of the press for decades, three journalists will spend Christmas in jail. Lázaro Yuri Valle Roca, Yoandy Montiel, and Esteban Rodríguez are accused of “disrespect” and “verbally attacking the president of Cuba, Miguel Díaz Canel.” The number of women journalists under house arrest is also growing and now includes Mary Karla Ares, Camila Acosta, and Claudia Montero. They have been forcibly separated from family and guarded by police.
In Venezuela, journalist and activist Roland Carreño will spend his second Christmas behind bars, accused by the authoritarian Nicolaás Maduro government of "conspiracy, criminal association, financing terrorism, and possession of weapons of war.” His detention lingers on, without a trial. His lawyer said Carreño has survived COVID-19 and poor medical attention.
As bad as it is for imprisoned journalists, they at least have hope of once again seeing family members and friends, unlike the far too many journalists in Mexico and Honduras who’ve been murdered because of their work.
Speak up, go to jail
Juan Holmann is the publisher of La Prensa, the oldest newspaper in Managua, Nicaragua, owned by the Chamorro family, for years a political and journalistic thorn in the side for President Daniel Ortega. Photo by La Prensa.
In Nicaragua, Mendoza is one of 160 political prisoners. The government's crackdown on critics hastened in April 2018, amid spreading social protest. The repression increased in May 2021, during the presidential campaign that gave Daniel Ortega a fourth term and confirmed his – and his wife's – grip on power.
The November result came after the arrests of seven presidential candidates and more than 40 journalists, human rights activists, business leaders – seemingly, whoever dared criticize Ortega.
Among Ortega’s targets is the Chamorro family, owners of Managua’s oldest newspaper, La Prensa, and heirs to the legendary journalist Pedro Chamorro Cardenal. He was murdered in 1978 during the civil war fighting the rule of dictator Anastasio Somoza García. Today, Chamorro Cardenal is considered a national martyr. His widow, Violeta Chamorro, became Nicaragua’s president in 1990, defeating Daniel Ortega.
The brutal harassment and persecution against the family now means that many will spend this Christmas in prison, with no idea when, or if, they’ll be released.
La Prensa’s publisher, Juan Holmann, is also incarcerated. The newspaper was raided by police this fall, and the newsroom remains occupied by law enforcement officers. In an interview with the magazine Esta Semana, Holemann's wife, Crystal Munguía, spoke about concerns for his health. He has a heart condition and recently had surgery. He is also losing sight in his right eye. A prison ophthalmologist said Holmann suffers from a worsening eye condition and needs treatment. But proper medical care has been denied.
Munguia described Holmann’s cell as too small for him and another prisoner. He’s also been subjected to food and sleep deprivation, she said, and that he’s allowed outdoors just once a week, in a small patio where inmates walk for an hour at a time, silently and with their heads down. A hearing where he was accused of "money laundering and customs fraud" was held at 4 a.m., without his lawyer. During one of the few visits Munguía has been allowed, Holemann sent a message to his mother Anita, who is 94 years old. "Please tell her to wait for me."
The oldest of the Chamorro siblings, Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Barrios, is 70 and a columnist for La Prensa. He has been held in El Chipote prison since June. His brother Carlos, in exile in Costa Rica, told palabra that "like all the (prison’s) 40 prisoners of conscience, he receives poor nutrition, has lost about 20 pounds and is not allowed to receive food from home. Pedro Joaquín has had only three family visits in almost six months in prison. They are isolated and denied access to books, paper, and pencils."
No critic is spared
Christina Chamorro Barrios, under house arrest since she announced her intent to challenge Ortega for the presidency.
Cristiana Chamorro Barrios, the vice chair of the newspaper’s board of directors, has been under house arrest for more than seven months. She was detained a day after announcing her plan to challenge Ortega for the presidency.
"She is isolated in her home but maintains the right to regular family visits from her children every day,” said her brother, Carlos Chamorro. “She is in good health and good spirits, claiming her innocence in the face of the (government’s) criminal accusations."
Treated like terrorists
Cristiana also led the Foundation Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, which for two decades promoted freedom of expression and supported independent journalism. The non-profit organization's former financial administrator, Walter Gómez, and its former accountant, Marcos Fletes, were abducted by paramilitary troops earlier this year. Even Ms. Chamorro’s driver has been in detention since June 15. All have been denied public trials or access to their lawyers.
A hearing where La Prensa Publisher Juan Holmann was accused of "money laundering and customs fraud," was held at 4 a.m. - without his lawyer
Another journalist under house arrest is the political pundit Jaime Arellano, whose TV show, Jaime Arellano en la Nación, aired for over 15 years. He went into exile in 2019 but returned to Nicaragua. This summer, the government accused him of "undermining the country's independence, sovereignty, self-determination, and inciting foreign intervention," and for "calling for sanctions against Nicaragua." Arellano, 61, has high blood pressure and other health issues. Since his arrest, he has had two family visits but has been denied a private meeting with a lawyer.
The growing population of detained or imprisoned journalists endure daily harassment and the presence of police officers or paramilitary forces surveilling their homes or those of their relatives. Their passports have been seized to prevent them from following the other 45 journalists who have gone into exile this year.
For Nicaraguans, many who are devout Christians, Christmas will instead be a time of grief—praying for detained loved ones, some in isolation cells without blankets and in complete darkness, or exposed around the clock to incandescent light and routine interrogations. They’re living forced separations from their children, parents, partners, and friends in a country now firmly under the rule of a couple who fears internal complaint, violates human rights, and ignores international condemnation.
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Dagmar Thiel is Ecuadorian-German journalist and CEO of Fundamedios, a non-profit organization dedicated to press freedoms and freedom of expression throughout the Americas. In her native Ecuador, Thiel reported for Ecuavisa and TC TV, and contributed to Spain’s El Pais newspaper and the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. She is also a Donald Reynolds Institute fellow.