President Daniel Ortega and Nicaragua’s Catholic bishops were set to meet Thursday in the hopes of putting stalled talks back on track, to resolve a political crisis that rights groups say has left at least 134 people dead.
The meeting comes as the United States upped the pressure on Ortega’s leftist administration by imposing visa restrictions on police and other officials linked to the deadly unrest.
“The political violence by police and pro-government thugs against the people of Nicaragua, particularly university students, shows a blatant disregard for human rights and is unacceptable,” US State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said in a statement.
Nauert did not name the individuals but said they included national police and health officials, along with others at the local level — “those directing or overseeing violence against others exercising their rights of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.”
The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights said 134 people had been killed in the violence since protests started on April 18.
“We have counted 134 deaths until Thursday,” the center’s secretary Marlin Sierra told AFP.
The dead included four young people killed late Wednesday in clashes between pro- and anti- government groups in the towns of Chinandega and Nueva Guinea.
Press reports said an armed group of pro-government supporters had attacked students who were attempting to block traffic heading to the Honduran border.
“We are going to that meeting to define the point, the agenda, the mechanisms, to work for peace,” said vice president and official government spokeswoman, Rosario Murillo — Ortega’s wife.
The opposition is hoping Ortega will commit to ceasing violence and agree to resume dialogue on a democratization process for the country, former diplomat Carlos Tunnermann, who represents civil society in the broader talks, told AFP.
One of the key demands of Ortega’s opponents is for 2021 elections to be brought forward to hasten his departure after 11 years in power. A related demand is the renewal of the electoral authority, which is currently in the hands of the ruling party.
“We are confident that they can convince Ortega to have a much more open attitude,” said a student protest leader at the National Autonomous University, which has been leading opposition to the leftist leader.
