Nicaraguan police have retained hope for another opposition president Stories in Nicaragua

The arrest of Arturo Cruz comes three days after opposition President Cristiana Chamorro was arrested.

Police in Nicaragua have arrested anti-apartheid activist Arturo Cruz in prison, arresting a second-term president in less than a week and promoting pre-election war in November as President Daniel Ortega seeks to retain power.

Cruz, a student who was Nicaragua’s ambassador to the United States between 2007 and 2009, was arrested at Managua airport shortly after arriving from Washington, DC, on Saturday, according to his aides.

The prosecutor’s office said Cruz was being investigated by international police based on “strong evidence that he had attacked the Nicaraguan people”.

It did not specify the charges against the 67-year-old player or whether he will continue to be detained or detained.

Cruz’s arrest comes three days after opposition leader Cristiana Chamorro – who could also be an Ortega candidate in November – was arrested on suspicion of embezzlement.

Cruz, a former Ortega ally, was nominated by Alianza Ciudadana or Citizen’s Alliance, a right-wing coalition with the help of prominent businessmen, in a November election.

The Nicaraguan Human Rights Council said the arrests were a “perversion” from the Ortega government to crack down on people it considered to be political enemies.

“This is not a criminal investigation, this is a political persecution,” he said.

The program of US he called for the “immediate release” of Cruz.

“Foreign powers have spoken: under Ortega, Nicaragua is becoming a global movement and moving away from democracy,” Julie Chung’s Undersecretary of the Executive of the State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said on Twitter.

The United States has also urged Nicaraguan authorities to release Cruz.

“Oppression of security forces and courts to arrest opponents is unacceptable … this is against free and fair elections,” OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro said on Twitter.

Ortega, a former militant who ruled from 1979 to 1990, returned in 2007 and won two consecutive elections. The 75-year-old wants to be re-elected in November for the third time in a row.

International organizations, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, have accused the Ortega government of making false accusations against critics.

The Electoral Commission has already dismissed two opposition parties.