Latest news with #exile
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Prominent Nicaraguan dissident shot dead in exile in Costa Rica
A retired Nicaraguan military officer who later became a critic of President Daniel Ortega has been killed in a shooting at his condominium in Costa Rica, where he lives in exile. The death of Roberto Samcam, 67, on Thursday has heightened concern about the safety of Nicaraguan dissidents, even when they live abroad. Police in Costa Rica have confirmed that a suspect entered Samcam's condominium building in the capital of San Jose at approximately 7:30am local time (13:30 GMT) and shot the retired major at least eight times. Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Organisation identified the murder weapon as a 9mm pistol. Samcam's wife, Claudia Vargas, told the Reuters news agency that the suspect pretended to be a delivery driver to gain access to her husband. The suspect allegedly fired on Samcam and then left without saying a word, escaping on a motorcycle. He remains at large. Samcam went into exile after participating in the 2018 protests, which began as demonstrations against social security reforms and escalated into one of the largest antigovernment movements in Nicaragua's history. Thousands of people flooded Nicaragua's streets. Some even called for President Ortega's resignation. But while Ortega did ultimately cancel the social security reforms, he also answered the protests with a police crackdown, and the clashes killed an estimated 355 people, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). More than 2,000 people were injured, and another 2,000 held in what the IACHR described as 'arbitrary detention'. In the months and years after the protests, Ortega has continued to seek punishment for the protesters and institutions involved in the demonstrations, which he likened to a 'coup'. Samcam was among the critics denouncing Ortega's use of military weapons and paramilitary forces to tamp down on the protests. Ortega has denied using either for repression. In a 2019 interview with the publication Confidencial, for instance, he compared Ortega to Anastasio Somoza Debayle, the last member of what is commonly known as the Somoza family dictatorship, which ruled Nicaragua for nearly 43 years. And in 2022, Samcam published a book that roughly called Ortega: El Calvario de Nicaragua, which roughly translates to: Ortega: Nicaragua's torment. Ortega has long been accused of human rights abuses and authoritarian tendencies. In 2023, for instance, he stripped hundreds of dissidents of their citizenship, leaving them effectively stateless, and seized their property. He has also pushed for constitutional reforms to increase his power and that of his wife, former Vice President Rosario Murillo. She now leads with Ortega as his co-president. The changes also increase Ortega's term in office and grant him the power to coordinate all 'legislative, judicial, electoral, control and supervisory bodies' — putting virtually all government agencies under his authority. From abroad, Samcam was helping to lead an effort to document some of Ortega's alleged abuses. In 2020, he became the chain-of-command expert for the Court of Conscience, a group created by the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, a nonprofit founded by a Nobel Prize-winning Costa Rican president, Oscar Arias. As part of the group, Samcam solicited testimony of torture and abuses committed under Ortega, with the aim of building a legal case against the Nicaraguan president and his officials. 'We are documenting each case so that it can move on to a trial, possibly before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights,' Samcam said at the time. Samcam is not the only Nicaraguan dissident to face an apparent assassination attempt while in exile. Joao Maldonado, a student leader in the 2018 protests, has survived two such attempts while living in the Costa Rican capital. The most recent one, in January 2024, left him and his partner seriously injured. Maldonado has blame Nicaragua's Sandinista National Liberation Front — which Ortega leads — for the attack.
Al Jazeera
11 hours ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Prominent Nicaraguan dissident shot dead in exile in Costa Rica
A retired Nicaraguan military officer who later became a critic of President Daniel Ortega has been killed in a shooting at his condominium in Costa Rica, where he lives in exile. The death of Roberto Samcam, 67, on Thursday has heightened concern about the safety of Nicaraguan dissidents, even when they live abroad. Police in Costa Rica have confirmed that a suspect entered Samcam's condominium building in the capital of San Jose at approximately 7:30am local time (13:30 GMT) and shot the retired major at least eight times. Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Organisation identified the murder weapon as a 9mm pistol. Samcam's wife, Claudia Vargas, told the Reuters news agency that the suspect pretended to be a delivery driver to gain access to her husband. The suspect allegedly fired on Samcam and then left without saying a word, escaping on a motorcycle. He remains at large. Samcam went into exile after participating in the 2018 protests, which began as demonstrations against social security reforms and escalated into one of the largest antigovernment movements in Nicaragua's history. Thousands of people flooded Nicaragua's streets. Some even called for President Ortega's resignation. But while Ortega did ultimately cancel the social security reforms, he also answered the protests with a police crackdown, and the clashes killed an estimated 355 people, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). More than 2,000 people were injured, and another 2,000 held in what the IACHR described as 'arbitrary detention'. In the months and years after the protests, Ortega has continued to seek punishment for the protesters and institutions involved in the demonstrations, which he likened to a 'coup'. Samcam was among the critics denouncing Ortega's use of military weapons and paramilitary forces to tamp down on the protests. Ortega has denied using either for repression. In a 2019 interview with the publication Confidencial, for instance, he compared Ortega to Anastasio Somoza Debayle, the last member of what is commonly known as the Somoza family dictatorship, which ruled Nicaragua for nearly 43 years. And in 2022, Samcam published a book that roughly called Ortega: El Calvario de Nicaragua, which roughly translates to: Ortega: Nicaragua's torment. Ortega has long been accused of human rights abuses and authoritarian tendencies. In 2023, for instance, he stripped hundreds of dissidents of their citizenship, leaving them effectively stateless, and seized their property. He has also pushed for constitutional reforms to increase his power and that of his wife, former Vice President Rosario Murillo. She now leads with Ortega as his co-president. The changes also increase Ortega's term in office and grant him the power to coordinate all 'legislative, judicial, electoral, control and supervisory bodies' — putting virtually all government agencies under his authority. From abroad, Samcam was helping to lead an effort to document some of Ortega's alleged abuses. In 2020, he became the chain-of-command expert for the Court of Conscience, a group created by the Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, a nonprofit founded by a Nobel Prize-winning Costa Rican president, Oscar Arias. As part of the group, Samcam solicited testimony of torture and abuses committed under Ortega, with the aim of building a legal case against the Nicaraguan president and his officials. 'We are documenting each case so that it can move on to a trial, possibly before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights,' Samcam said at the time. Samcam is not the only Nicaraguan dissident to face an apparent assassination attempt while in exile. Joao Maldonado, a student leader in the 2018 protests, has survived two such attempts while living in the Costa Rican capital. The most recent one, in January 2024, left him and his partner seriously injured. Maldonado has blame Nicaragua's Sandinista National Liberation Front — which Ortega leads — for the attack.
Washington Post
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Outspoken Nicaraguan opposition figure shot to death at his home in Costa Rica
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — A retired Nicaraguan military officer turned outspoken critic of President Daniel Ortega was shot to death Thursday at his home in Costa Rica, authorities said. Roberto Samcam, 67, had been living in exile since July 2018 when paramilitaries assaulted his home in Nicaragua. Police say a man entered the condominium complex where Samcam lived northeast of the Costa Rican capital of San Jose and went directly to the retired major's home around 7:30 a.m.
Associated Press
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Outspoken Nicaraguan opposition figure shot to death at his home in Costa Rica
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica (AP) — A retired Nicaraguan military officer turned outspoken critic of President Daniel Ortega was shot to death Thursday at his home in Costa Rica, authorities said. Roberto Samcam, 67, had been living in exile since July 2018 when paramilitaries assaulted his home in Nicaragua. Police say a man entered the condominium complex where Samcam lived northeast of the Costa Rican capital of San Jose and went directly to the retired major's home around 7:30 a.m. Without saying a word, the man shot Samcam multiple times with a 9mm pistol, according to Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Organization. The shooter escaped. Word of Samcam's killing spread rapidly among the hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans who have sought refuge in Costa Rica since Ortega cracked down on widespread protests in 2018. In 2020, Samcam served as chain-of-command expert for the Court of Conscience, organized by Costa Rica's Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress, to collect testimony of those who suffered torture and other abuses at the hands of the government. The exercise was in part to build cases to eventually take to regional and international human rights bodies. 'We are documenting each case so that it can move on to a trial, possibly before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights,' Samcam said at the time. He said government officials were involved in the abuses. In 2022, Samcam published a book titled 'Ortega: El calvario de Nicaragua' roughly 'Ortega: Nicaragua's torment.' Last year, he published another text describing in detail how he watched Ortega build a dictatorship. In January 2024, another Nicaraguan exile, Joao Maldonado, was shot seven times in the street outside Costa Rica's capital. He survived and accused a cell of Nicaragua's Sandinista National Liberation Front of responsibility for the attack. Ortega and his wife and Co-president Rosario Murillo have driven hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans into exile and imprisoned then stripped hundreds more of their citizenship. Murillo who is also the Nicaraguan government's spokesperson did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment about Samcam's killing. Since crushing the 2018 protests, the government has systematically pursued any voice of opposition. The government has shuttered hundreds of nongovernmental organizations and persecuted religious groups, including the Catholic church.
Reuters
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Nicaraguan ex-military officer killed in exile, wife and party say
SAN JOSE, June 19 (Reuters) - Former Nicaraguan military officer Roberto Samcam was killed on Thursday in Costa Rica, where he was living in exile, his wife and the UNAMOS political party said. Samcam, a retired Sandinista major, was a vocal critic of the Nicaraguan government led by President Daniel Ortega. Costa Rica's national police did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Nicaraguan government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
