Following the arrest of Cristiana Chamorro, Arturo Cruz, Felix Maradiaga Blandon and Juan Sebastian Chamorro, there are now four presidential pre-candidates who have been imprisoned by Nicaraguan authorities.

See "Electoral Process Is Losing Democratic Viability"

In addition to the arrest of political leaders, there are business leaders who have been victims of these illegitimate procedures, as on June 8 the former president of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP) and current president of the Consultative Committee for Economic Integration (CCIE), Jose Adan Aguerri, was arrested.

In this context, COSEP called on the government to release all political prisoners and that the government commits before the Nicaraguan people to grant all democratic guarantees for a free, fair, transparent, competitive and observed electoral process.

"We hereby declare to the people of Nicaragua and the world that we are being victims of the greatest political and human rights crisis in our recent history, and that it is urgent that the life, physical integrity and constitutional rights of all political prisoners be guaranteed," the statement concludes.

Also see "Mortal Blow to the Electoral System"

On June 9, the National Police reported that the arrest of citizen Jose Bernard Pallais Arana was executed, because he is being investigated for "carrying out acts that undermine independence, sovereignty, and self-determination, inciting foreign interference in internal affairs, requesting military interventions, organizing with financing from foreign powers to execute acts of terrorism and destabilization, proposing and managing economic, commercial and financial operations blockades against the country and its institutions."

Pallais is a political analyst and member of the National Coalition (NC).

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