Page 6 - aruba-today-20240906

A6 WORLD NEWS
Friday 6 September 2024
U.S. secures the release of 135 Nicaraguan political prisoners

By SONIA PÉREZ D. The Nicaraguans rolled out
Associated Press of a Guatemalan air base
GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — in the capital on buses
The U.S. government an- Thursday morning, with
nounced Thursday that it some waving from the win-
secured the release of 135 dows.
Nicaraguan political pris- Nicaragua’s government
oners, who have arrived in did not immediately con-
Guatemala where they will firm the announcement on
apply for entry to the United the prisoners’ release.
States or other countries. Nicaraguan human rights
National Security Advi- advocate Haydeé Castillo
sor Jake Sullivan said in a said the release of the pris-
statement that they were oners was a “triumph for
released on humanitarian the Nicaraguan people’s
grounds. resistance.” She noted that
“No one should be put in the prisoners weren’t re-
jail for peacefully exercis- ally freed because their
ing their fundamental rights release comes with forced
of free expression, associa- displacement from their
tion, and practicing their country. “Nobody should
religion,” Sullivan said. be held prisoner for thinking
Deputy Assistant Secretary differently,” Castillo said.
of State for Western Hemi- Lucia Garcia gestures from a bus after being released from a Nicaraguan jail and landing at the She said advocates were
sphere Affairs Eric Jacob- airport in reviewing lists to see how
stein, speaking with report- Guatemala City, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. many such prisoners re-
ers in Guatemala, said that Associated Press main in custody.
the Nicaraguan govern- to facilitate the travel of the Nicaraguans in Gua- of Ortega’s government for Ivannia Alvarez, an exiled
ment received nothing in these individuals and re- temala, said “these are imprisoning people for no Nicaraguan and member
exchange for the prisoners’ ally ensure their safety at individuals, some of whom justifiable reason. of the Recognition Mecha-
release and the negotia- every step of the journey,” have been victims of tor- Among the Nicaraguans nism for Political Prisoners,
tion signaled no change in Jacobstein said, adding ture ... who’ve had an ex- released were 13 members said that her most recent
U.S. policy toward the gov- that Nicaragua continues tremely difficult time, we of a Texas-based religious count had been 151 jailed,
ernment of President Dan- to “unjustly” detain people. did find them generally in charity, Catholic laypeo- suggesting that some of
iel Ortega. Asked if there were some very good health and spir- ple, students and others. them are still detained.
“Though the pressure itself prisoners Nicaragua was its.” One thing that struck Guatemalan President Ber- The Texas-based religious
has been consistent, the willing to release, but who the U.S. diplomat about nardo Arévalo agreed to organization Mountain
planning and execution refused to leave, he de- some of his conversations host the Nicaraguans while Gateway confirmed the
of this release was rapid, clined to comment. with the prisoners was the they apply for entry to the release of 13 of its people
and we’ve worked quickly Jacobstein, who greeted “true pettiness and cruelty” U.S. after nine months in jail.q

China halts foreign adoptions of its children. U.S. seeks further

information on pending cases

BEIJING (AP) — The Chinese pending applications, the stage” other than those sion other than to say that it A U.S. consulate issued 16
government is ending its U.S. State Department said cases covered by an ex- was in line with the spirit of visas for adoptions from
intercountry adoption pro- Thursday. ception clause, and the relevant international con- China in the 12 months
gram, and the U.S. is seek- In a phone call with the U.S. embassy is seeking clarifi- ventions. from October 2022 through
ing clarification on how the diplomats in China, Beijing cation in writing from Chi- Many foreigners have ad- September 2023, the first in
decision will affect the hun- stated it “will not continue na’s Ministry of Civil Affairs, opted children from China more than two years, the
dreds of U.S. families with to process cases at any a U.S. State Department over the decades, visiting State Department report
statement said. the country to pick them said. It wasn’t clear if any
“We understand there up and then bringing them more visas had been issued
are hundreds of families to a new home overseas. since then.
still pending completion Over the years, U.S. families In January, Denmark’s only
of their adoption, and we have adopted 82,674 chil- overseas adoption agency
sympathize with their situa- dren from China, the most said it was winding down
tion,” the statement said. from any foreign country. operations after concerns
At a daily briefing on Thurs- China suspended interna- were raised about fabri-
day, Mao Ning, a spokes- tional adoptions during the cated documents and pro-
woman for the Chinese COVID-19 pandemic. The cedures, and Norway’s top
foreign ministry, said that government later resumed regulatory body recom-
China is no longer allowing adoptions for children who mended stopping overseas
foreign adoptions of the had received travel autho- adoptions for two years
country’s children, with the rization before the suspen- pending an investigation
only exception for blood sion in 2020, the U.S. State into several cases.
Spanish couples take their newly adopted Chinese children for relatives to adopt a child or Department said in its lat- Beijing’s announcement
a walk in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, March 7, 2007. a stepchild. est annual report on adop- also has followed falling
Associated Press She didn’t explain the deci- tions. birth rates in the country. q