(Reuters) – Nicaraguan police on Saturday arrested the general manager of newspaper La Prensa, a day after raiding its offices and accusing the publication, which is a trenchant critic of President Daniel Ortega, of customs fraud and money laundering.
In a statement, national police said it had arrested Juan Hollman Chamorro for customs fraud, as well as laundering money, property and assets, adding to a mounting crackdown against the paper and other critics of the Ortega administration.
A day before Friday’s raid on La Prensa, the paper said it was no longer able to put out a print edition because the government was withholding paper from it.
On Friday night, Ortega had accused the newspaper of “lies, slander, defamation, money laundering and not paying taxes.”
His government’s attacks against the opposition and critics have left Ortega increasingly isolated internationally.
Ortega, a former Marxist guerrilla and erstwhile Cold War antagonist of the United States, is seeking to secure a fourth consecutive term in power in elections due in November.
La Prensa is controlled by the Chamorro family, some of whom are longtime adversaries of Ortega. Following the arrest of the general manager, four members of the family are now in custody.
(Reporting by Ismael Lopez; Editing by Daniel Wallis)
