Does exile in Nicaragua have any precedent in Latin America?
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(CNN) --
Spain will offer a path to citizenship for the 222 Nicaraguan political prisoners who were recently released from prison and many of whom were sent to the United States on Thursday, a spokesman for Spain's foreign ministry told CNN.
The spokesperson did not immediately respond to a CNN question about the details of the offer, including how quickly they could receive citizenship.
The spokesman spoke on condition of anonymity, citing local professional standards.
Questions have been rising about the fate of the more than 200 Nicaraguans recently arrived in the United States, who were also stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship on Thursday.
His release followed years of repression by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.
The authoritarian leader has jailed dozens of opponents and activists, particularly in the run-up to the latest elections in November 2021.
This is what we know about the expulsion of opponents in Nicaragua
US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Thursday that the people, who were flown into Dulles International Airport in Washington, will be granted humanitarian parole for two years, allowing them to remain in the US. .and will give them time to apply for asylum if they so choose.
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Each of the people who left Nicaragua “voluntarily consented to travel” and “there were two people who, of their own free will, chose not to travel to the United States,” Price said.
Among the released prisoners is an American, according to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, who welcomed his move, calling it a product of US diplomacy.
Questions have been rising about the fate of the more than 200 newcomers to the United States, who were also stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship on Thursday.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Ortega said Thursday that his release was not negotiated with Washington.
“We just wanted them to go away,” Ortega said.
Calling the release of the prisoners "a message of peace and stability for Nicaragua," the 77-year-old leader said the original list of those to be released contained 228 names, but the United States had banned at least four prisoners because they had been convicted of common crimes.
Bishop Rolando Álvarez, a high-profile member of the Catholic Church who has long opposed the Ortega regime and was detained in August 2022, was also due to be released but refused, Ortega said.
Instead, 11 clergy members were released Thursday morning.
The political prisoners were received by US officials, activists and members of the Nicaraguan diaspora at the Dulles airport.
One of those who arrived was political activist Félix Maradiaga, who told CNN en Español that they only realized what was happening when they were on the plane.
Maradiaga is reunited with family in the US after expulsion from Nicaragua 1:10
“They made us sign a note where it says that we are, very brief, a line, simply and simply that we voluntarily left the country without any other explanation,” he said.
"It is a disconcerting situation on the one hand but on the other hand I must say that what captures us emotionally at this moment is the opportunity to hug our families, in my case I have not seen my daughter for more than 3 years."
Daniel OrtegaFélix MaradiagaPolitical prisoners Nicaragua