Nicaragua - Q&A - (27 January 2023)

Do you have any information about two French-Nicaraguan citizens, a mother and daughter, who were sentenced to eight years in prison yesterday by a Managua court for “treason,” according to information provided by the husband/father from Costa Rica, where he lives in exile? They are Jeannine Horvilleur Cuadra, age 63, and her daughter Ana Alvarez Horvilleur, age 43; they were arrested on September 13 along with Ana Alvarez Horvilleur’s husband, Félix Roiz, a 56-year-old Nicaraguan engineer.

We just learned that our compatriots, Jeannine and Ana Carolina Horvilleur, who were arrested on September 13, were pronounced guilty of “conspiracy to undermine national integrity and propagation of false news” and sentenced to eight years in prison following court proceedings on January 17, 18 and 26.

We deplore the fact that despite several requests to the Nicaraguan authorities, our ambassador was not granted access to their trial, just as we regret the opacity surrounding this trial, which took place behind closed doors.

We also remain very concerned by the conditions in which our compatriots are being held and the state of their health, particularly because despite repeated requests, our embassy in Nicaragua has still not been granted access to them as provided by the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs is fully mobilized in both Paris and Managua to provide them with all possible support.