Some of the 135 political prisoners who were released from prison by the government of President Daniel Ortega and arrived in Guatemala on Thursday to offer their testimonies to the Voice of America.
They expressed not only their gratitude for the “miracle” of their release, but also stated that they will not stop fighting for their country.
Among those freed are human rights activists, missionaries from the Texas-based Mountain Gateway organization and Catholic laypeople.
Below are some of the testimonies:
Carlos Molina, activist
“The state of Nicaragua has a grudge against the flag of Nicaragua… because they want the flag of a political party to stand out more, more than the flag of the state of Nicaragua. They want the red and black to stand out more. [identifica al Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional, FSLN] that blue with white is what covers each one of us Nicaraguans.”
Accused of the crime of manufacturing and using restricted weapons against the state of Nicaragua, Molina received a sentence of six years in prison on May 11, 2023, he said.
“It was a tough process, during which I could hardly see my family. They didn’t have much money to travel to see me. Everything will depend on the way one looks at prison because in prison we learn many things that we don’t learn very easily here outside in freedom.”
Sergio Castilblanco, activist
“First of all, I am grateful to God for having performed the miracle of freeing us from the forced confinement in which we were held by the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. And I am especially grateful to the government of Guatemala and the United States and to the social and political organizations that have worked to achieve the release of us, the political prisoners of Nicaragua,” says Castilblanco.
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