Berta Valle: "Nicaragua has become a big prison"

Daniel Ortega's regime has turned Nicaragua into a huge prison for all its citizens. Nicaraguans are prisoners of their own government and those who dare to speak out and denounce the constant human rights violations committed by the authorities are silenced and arrested.

This is the case of former presidential candidate Félix Maradiaga, arrested by the Ortega government on 8 June 2021. More than a year has passed since then, but Maradiaga remains in prison, as do more than 200 other Nicaraguan political prisoners subjected to torture, solitary confinement and prolonged incommunicado detention.

"Felix denounced the situation for more than 10 years," says his wife, political activist Berta Valle, during a press conference in Madrid. During that time, the Ortega government has constituted itself as an iron dictatorship where there is no room for denunciation or criticism. "Nicaragua has become a huge prison", she adds.

With the aim of spreading awareness of the situation in the country and gaining support from the international community, Valle has travelled to Europe to tell her husband's story, which is the same story of hundreds of other Nicaraguans. After visiting the European institutions in Brussels and Strasbourg, the activist is now in the Spanish capital, where she has met with government authorities and presented Maradiaga's current situation to the media during an event organised by the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom.  

Exile or prison. These are the only possibilities for those who stand up to the Sandinista authorities. While her husband is in El Chipote prison, one of the symbols of Nicaraguan repression, Valle has been living in exile in the United States with her daughter and mother-in-law since 2018, when she was accused of "treason".

"Félix knew it could happen," the activist recalls, going back to that June 2021 when the political scientist was summoned by the Public Prosecutor's Office. On the way to the hearing, the police violently dragged Maradiaga out of the car, thus beginning his brutal arrest under a regime that experts describe as "white torture".

Only Maradiaga's sister can visit him in El Chipote, where prisoners are exposed to confinement and are obliged to remain completely silent. Valle gives as an example Tamara Dávila, also an opposition member, who has been in a cell for more than a year. "El Chipote is a place of torture", says Valle.

In Maradiaga's case, he shares a cell with another prisoner, but they cannot talk to each other. Nor are they allowed to read - not even the Bible - and they only get about 15 minutes of sunshine. The food is also terrible. As a result, Valle says her husband has lost 26 kilos during his stay in El Chipote. "He's being turned off," she says. 

Valle has also described how the trials of political prisoners are conducted. The judicial process takes place behind closed doors in the prison itself and with only one family member of the accused present. "The prosecution witnesses were policemen", Valle explained, recalling her husband's trial. Maradiaga has had four lawyers, two of whom are currently in prison, another in exile and the current one, in Valle's words, "is worried about persecution".

Maradiaga was sentenced to 13 years in prison in March 2022, although his wife points out that other people in other prison systems in the country are sentenced to even longer. During the long sentence, prisoners are denied health care. "We don't know how their health is. There are no check-ups," laments Valle. The activist cites the case of former brigadier general Hugo Torres, who died in hospital after eight months in El Chipote without medical care.

For this reason, Valle asks the international community for "urgent" help to "save their lives", recalling that human rights organisations do not exist in Nicaragua and that the International Red Cross has no access to prisons. 

Despite the seriousness of the situation and the fact that relatives have provided "talking pictures", the regime ignores the opponents and claims that the prisoners are in good health. In early July, a pro-government newspaper published a photograph and an interview with Maradiaga, who was described as a "coup leader". "I saw a lot of pain in his eyes," says Valle.

The authorities did the same with other prisoners and published several photographs in August, the last time they heard from them. "Nothing new will be known until the next visit, which will be when they (the government) want", says Valle, who admits to feeling "worried" because "there are always consequences when you protest". 

In addition to the persecution of politicians, Ortega has focused on silencing the Catholic Church itself, an institution with important weight in the country. The Church also played a key role in the 2018 protests, where it publicly expressed its support for the Nicaraguan people. As a result, eight priests are in prison, including Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, and several are in exile.

"Not even in times of war have we seen this kind of behaviour", stresses Valle. "Protest has been criminalised, you can't make critical comments on social networks", adds the activist, who accuses the government of taking "Russian and Venezuelan recommendations".

Despite everything, Valle feels "grateful" during her trip to Europe. The activist considers that there is an "openness" towards Nicaragua, as all politicians, regardless of their ideology, agree that the situation is serious. "There is concern and a willingness to help us". 

However, Valle calls for "using all possibilities to achieve the release" of political prisoners, as there can be no talk of democratisation as long as there are people imprisoned for political reasons. 

"It is difficult to wake up every day worried about how your husband is, to explain to your children what is happening. As relatives of political prisoners, the only thing we want is to return to our family. I want Alejandra (their daughter) to be able to hug her father after years of not seeing him", explained Valle.

During his speech after proclaiming himself president, Ortega declared that "prisoners have no homeland, they are not Nicaraguans". Valle regrets "that she is not allowed to return to the country", but also acknowledges that she would be willing for her husband to be "exiled" if it would "save his life". "Exile hurts. We leave a life behind. But I am willing to do it if it will save the lives of my husband and the 200 people imprisoned", the activist concludes.

Americas Coordinator: José Antonio Sierra.