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CNN becomes latest victim of escalating authoritarianism in Nicaragua

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CNN en Español has been banned in Nicaragua. Photo: Still

The Daniel Ortega government in Nicaragua included CNN’s Spanish-language subsidiary CNN en Español on its list of media outlets to face political censorship, the news company confirmed last week. 

CNN en Español was seen as Nicaragua’s last operating TV station critical of the Ortega government. Channel representatives complained that the administration “pulled our television signal, depriving Nicaraguans of news and information.” The government hasn’t commented on the decision. 

Far-right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who uses the Nicaraguan regime as a central example of his anti-left messaging, said he “doesn’t want the same to happen in Brazil.” 

The new decision follows a series of authoritarian attacks against the Nicaraguan press, a wave of repression in which journalists and media workers have been detained or arbitrarily investigated for doing their jobs. 

Last month, 95-year-old Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa was forced to exile its entire operation and work in Costa Rica. 

Pedro Vaca, Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), said “censorship in Nicaragua has reached a critical point for journalism.”