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WORLD NEWS Friday 22 april 2022
Nicaragua tightens grip on universities to stifle dissent

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN guerrillas who fought beside
Associated Press him to overthrow dictator
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Four Anastasio Somoza in 1979
years after university stu- came from the universities
dents led protests against as leaders of similar move-
Nicaraguan President Dan- ments in Latin America and
iel Ortega, his government around the world have. Ni-
is minimizing chances of a caraguan universities lost
reoccurrence by seizing a their autonomy temporarily
dozen private universities after the revolution as well
and closing them or shifting when the junta that gov-
control to the state. erned the transition chose
A generation of students university administrators.
who participated in the "We were responsible for
April 2018 protests saw their that abuse and now we
education interrupted. are paying for it," said Me-
Many were forced into hid- dina, who at that time sup-
ing, jailed or exiled when ported the Sandinistas.
Ortega's police cracked Of the 12 universities seized,
down. Now others who seven are based in Nicara-
managed to resume their gua and five were the vir-
studies worry they won't tual campuses of foreign
be able to finish or have universities. In each case,
finished but can't find work Demonstrators protest outside the Jesuit-run Universidad Centroamericana, UCA, demanding the congress alleged adminis-
because the now state-run university's allocation of its share of 6% of the national budget in Managua, Nicaragua, Aug. 2, trative failures and financial
2018. The sign reads in Spanish "Daniel and Somoza are the same thing!," referring to dictator
schools haven't given them Anastasio Somoza and current President Daniel Ortega. incompliance as justifica-
diplomas. Associated Press tion for the seizures.
The seizure of the private The universities' property
universities in recent months when we realized that worked on a range of is- other center of protest in was transferred to the state
and the passage of educa- Ortega would not stop until sues were closed — includ- April 2018. Those govern- and three new large uni-
tion reforms that increase he punished the universities ing 25 more on Wednesday ment funds had been used versities with a combined
state control are the latest and the students." — along with independent to offer scholarships to low- enrollment of 18,000 were
examples of Ortega's re- A request for comment to media outlets. income students. created using that infra-
lentless pursuit of those he first lady and Vice President The Sandinista-controlled Ortega has sought "re- structure. For weeks in 2018,
believes conspired to try to Rosario Murillo, who is also congress in late March venge" against the schools, students occupied Nicara-
overthrow his government. the government's spokes- passed reforms to two Medina said. "Ortega's ob- gua Polytechnic University
"In April 2018, the regime woman, was not answered. education laws that re- jective is to consolidate the in Managua, fearful they
took the repression to limits Earlier this year, dozens of duce university autonomy government's and the San- would be killed if they left.
never seen in recent years," leading opposition figures and increase government dinista Front's political con- There were frequent skir-
said Ernesto Medina, who were tried, convicted and control, experts say. The trol over universities." mishes with police and San-
led American University in sentenced for allegedly try- changes also cut govern- Ortega recognizes how dinista youth. They treated
Managua for 11 years until ing to destabilize Ortega's ment funding to the Je- university campuses can their wounded while trying
the end of 2018 and who is government. Nongovern- suit-led Central American generate social upheaval. to coordinate with students
in exile in Germany. "That's mental organizations that University in Managua, an- Many of the Sandinista at other universities.q

Haiti grounds private flights amid probe

into deadly crash

By DÁNICA COTO and Port-au-Prince. A police of- Amado Gutiérrez from the
EVENS SANON ficial told The Associated Dominican Republic and
Associated Press Press that five people died carried a badge belong-
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico upon impact, including the ing to a Dominican flight
(AP) — Haiti's National Civil truck driver. "I heard a big school called Enalas. A
Aviation Office announced boom," said Jean Felix Surin, secretary at the school said
Thursday that it is banning a farmer who rushed out of no one was immediately
all private aircraft from fly- his house to the scene of available for comment.
ing during an investigation the crash. "Everybody was Officials said the plane was
into the crash of a small in shock." en route to the southern Onlookers mill around the wreckage of a small plane that
plane that killed at least Someone in the crowd said coastal city of Jacmel and crashed in the community of Carrefour, Port-au-Prince, Haiti,
five people and injured one of the victims asked crashed shortly after taking Wednesday, April 20, 2022. Onlookers mill around the wreckage
of a small plane that crashed in the community of Carrefour,
several others.Authorities for help while still on the off from Port-au-Prince. Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Wednesday, April 20, 2022.
did not say when private ground but died shortly The crash comes four Associated Press
flights could resume, add- afterward. Hours later, fire- months after Haiti's Civil
ing that the measure is part fighters used hoses to clean Aviation Security Depart- out the required license. months have opted to fly
of a review of private oper- the site. ment issued a notice warn- Last July, another small from the capital to Haiti's
ators. The announcement The Haitian newspaper Le ing that several private plane also en route to Jac- southern region to avoid
was made a day after a Nouvelliste reported that operators it did not identify mel crashed near the capi- driving through gang-con-
Cessna 207 crashed into the pilot died after being had been breaking rules by tal, killing six people, includ- trolled areas that have
a truck transporting sodas taken to a hospital. running commercial flights, ing two U.S. missionaries. seen a spike in kidnappings
in the crowded capital of The pilot was identified as among other things, with- Some people in recent and killings.q