Former Beauty Queen Arrested by Officials for Participating in the Presidential Election
Nicaraguan authorities have arrested a former beauty queen who planned to run for president in November's presidential election, Berenice Quezada. The news was revealed by his supporters, Wednesday (4/8/2021).
Quezada's arrest is the latest crackdown by President Daniel Ortega's government against opposition groups. For months, the regime detained many political opponents, including presidential candidates, ahead of the 2021 presidential election.
Ortega, a former Marxist fighter and foe of the United States during the Cold War era is running for a fourth consecutive term.
Quezada, who won the title of Miss Nicaragua in 2017, was detained by the authorities on Tuesday (3/8/2021) evening local time.
He was placed under house arrest, according to his backing party, the Citizens' Alliance for Freedom (ACXL).
"Quezada is under house arrest with no access to a telephone, with restrictions on going abroad and barred from running for public office," ACXL tweeted.
"We demand that he be released and that Berenice Quezada's human rights be respected," the party said.
Nicaragua's attorney general's office said Quezada was detained for "inciting hatred and violence".
Therefore, the woman should be under house arrest. Local Nicaraguan news site Confidencial reported Tuesday that charges of "crimes of terrorism" had also been leveled against Quezada, after he made critical comments about the Central American country's lack of democratic freedoms.