Former Sandinista guerrilla fighter Hugo Torres, opponent of Daniel Ortega, dies

Controversy over the closure of 12 private universities in Nicaragua 3:36

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The former Sandinista guerrilla and retired brigadier general, Hugo Torres Jiménez, 73, died "due to illness" this Saturday, according to the Public Ministry through a statement.

Torres's death had been reported by his children, the political party of which he was vice president, the Democratic Renewal Union (Unamos), and the opposition Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy.

"The Public Ministry of Nicaragua informs the Nicaraguan population of the death of Jorge Hugo Torres Jiménez (QDEP) due to illness. From the moment his health deteriorated, he was transferred to a hospital in the capital to be treated properly" said the Public Ministry.

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Torres had been arrested on June 13, 2021 because the Nicaraguan justice system was investigating him for alleged crimes against national sovereignty, established in the Law for the Defense of the Rights of the People to Independence, Sovereignty and Self-determination for Peace, approved by the National Assembly in December 2020. He was detained at the Judicial Assistance Directorate of the National Police.

Anticipating his arrest, Torres recorded a video that was later released by Unamos in which he declared: “I am 73 years old.

I never thought that at this stage of my life I would be fighting in a civic and peaceful way against a new dictatorship (...) These are desperate blows by a regime that feels moribund, that has no legal basis, that has no justification to remain in the power".

Torres's death comes after two weeks of trials of dozens of opponents on charges of treason.

Nineteen of them have been found guilty by the Judiciary and several received sentences of between 8 and 13 years in prison.

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In a note of mourning, the children of Torres informed that by the will of their father there will be no funeral honors or public ceremonies and they asked for respect for their privacy.

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In a statement published on its social networks, the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy lamented the death of Hugo Torres and added that "he never submitted to power, and, until today, he was the only former general of the National Army who gave continuity to the fight for democracy in Nicaragua and is the second political prisoner to die at the hands of his jailers".

As the Civic Alliance recalled, "On December 27, 1974, Hugo Torres Jiménez became a hero, not only for his participation in the commando action to take Chema Castillo's house, but for all the years of his guerrilla life in the fight against Somoza and his military leadership in the “assault on the National Palace”.

Nicaraguan poet, novelist and activist Gioconda Belli expressed on her Twitter account: "My friend Hugo Torres, the one who never gave up; the hero of '74, '78, the one who fought his whole life for Nicaragua and died in prison and was vilified for his revolutionary spirit. I am ashamed of all those who know it and are accomplices of this monstrous regime".