Helmeted troops patrolled the abandoned streets in response to civil and student riots in the Central American Republic of Nicaragua. Mothers and fathers wailed beside the butchered bodies of their young men. In the destroyed street, the body of a young man lay under a white sheath. The corpse was barefoot and covered with linen carried by a weeping mother. Neighborhood friends stood and marveled, grieving with handkerchiefs.
In the Republic of Nicaragua, protests calling for Ortega's ouster escalated in a campaign that lasted nearly two months. The government has responded with a relentless crackdown: at least about eight people were killed in protests on June 16, 2018, and a total of 178 people have been killed in protests that have broken out since April On April 16, 2018, the government enforced an increase in social security contributions and a cut in pensions of about 5 percent Protests have broken out since April 18. Protests erupted on April 18. The Onetega administration in Nicaragua forcibly suppressed the protests by deploying police and ruling party armed groups, and from April 21, violently attacked protesters in various areas, firing live ammunition, resulting in a sharp increase in casualties. A large pro-Ortega rally by the ruling party was also held on May 9 to counter the protests. The anti-Ortega group of citizens and students clashed with the pro-Ortega group of the ruling party.
Clashes and incidents of violence have continued in the Republic of Nicaragua, resulting in many casualties. In addition to calling for an immediate halt to the violence, a declaration in support of the Nicaraguan people was agreed upon and adopted by the regular General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) on June 5, 2018. The Government of Nicaragua is expected to accept and facilitate the deployment of the Special Follow-up Mechanism (MESENI) and the Group of Independent Experts (GIEI) by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), as well as the field work of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Consultation in accordance with democratic principles is important, and it is urgent that the issues be resolved through dialogue under the mediation of the Bishops' Conference. There have been few large-scale demonstrations, and small-scale demonstrations by some anti-government civil society groups have occurred spontaneously and have been suppressed by the police.
