Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Eric Jacobstein on Nicaraguan Political Prisoners

MODERATOR: Okay, it does appear that we have a critical mass to get started. Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us for this on-the-record briefing with Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Eric Jacobstein, who will discuss the political prisoners that were released today from Nicaragua. This call will take – will be embargoed until it is completed.

So I’m going to turn it over to DAS Jacobstein to start, and then we will take questions. If you would like to ask a question, please use the raise your hand function and we will get to as many as we can. Thank you.

MR JACOBSTEIN: Great. Good afternoon from Guatemala City. Earlier today a plane landed in Guatemala carrying 135 released political prisoners and prisoners of conscience whom Nicaraguan authorities had unjustly detained. It was an incredible, emotional experience to greet the individuals on the tarmac here as they took steps to reclaim their lives and freedom.

The United States facilitated their transportation to Guatemala after months of advocacy with Nicaragua. We thank Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo and Foreign Minister Carlos Ramiro Martínez for working with us to welcome these individuals to Guatemala and really continuing to be a democratic leader for the region in both words and actions.

Among the released prisoners are 13 individuals affiliated with Mountain Gateway, a Texas-based religious organization, as well as Catholic laypeople, students, journalists, human rights defenders, and others. Nicaraguan authorities unjustly imprisoned these individuals on unsubstantiated charges simply for exercising their fundamental freedoms. They now begin the difficult work of rebuilding their lives in another country.

The governments of the United States and Guatemala, together with the international community’s humanitarian and civil society partners, will temporarily provide them food, lodging, psychosocial and mental health support, and medical assistance to help them recover from the difficult conditions and trauma they have experienced. These individuals will now have the opportunity to apply for lawful pathways to reclaim their lives outside Nicaragua.

Ortega and Murillo continue to violate the human rights of Nicaraguans and other individuals by stifling dissent, jailing political opponents, and seizing their property. The United States continues to prioritize support for the Nicaraguan people’s demands for a peaceful return to democracy and a Nicaragua where every individual can exercise their human rights and fundamental freedoms free from fear of persecution or reprisal.

So thank you very much again for the opportunity to talk today, and I’m now happy to take any questions you have.

MODERATOR: Wonderful. Again, if you would like to answer a question, please use the raise your hand function and we will get to you. Okay, the first question is going to be from Shaun Tandon from AFP. Shaun, you have the floor.

QUESTION: Hey there, thanks for doing this. I wanted to ask you about your interaction with the Nicaraguans and how cooperative or not you were. I mean, do you see any broader political significance in this? I mean, there was the release last year. Do you see it as a way for them to try to improve relations with the U.S. at all, or are you skeptical of drawing any greater political implication of what Ortega might be up to this with? Thank you.

MR JACOBSTEIN: Thank you very much. So I do want to emphasize that this does not signal a change in our policy toward this repressive regime. Ortega and Murillo continue to suppress democracy, fail to respect the human rights of Nicaraguans, and deepen Nicaragua’s collaboration with authoritarian governments like Russia and the PRC. So we will continue to promote accountability with the Ortega-Murillo regime and those who help to facilitate or sustain the regime’s corruption and assaults on democracy and human rights.

This is the result of months of public and private pressure on the part of the United States for Ortega and Murillo to release those unjustly detained. Though the pressure itself has been consistent, the planning and execution of this release was rapid and we’ve worked quickly to facilitate the travel of these individuals and really ensure their safety at every step of the journey.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Our next question is from Halley Toosi with Politico.

QUESTION: Hi. Sorry, can you hear me? Sorry. This is Eric Bazail from Politico filling in for Halley Toosi. Look, can you talk through what specifically Nicaragua got in terms of this deal and also what Guatemala got for their cooperation receiving these dissidents and process – holding them while they’re waiting to be processed to come to the United States?

MR JACOBSTEIN: Thank you. So these individuals were already in prison. The Nicaraguan regime got nothing from this. This was a unilateral action. So we’re really pleased that these individuals are now in freedom.

And sorry, the second part of your question? Oh, sorry. The second part of your question had to do with the Guatemalan Government. So this is just – from our perspective, this is another sign of the important relationship between the United States and Guatemala. We’re seeing Guatemala, again, stepping up as a regional leader, as it has on a number of other issues, on Venezuela, Haiti, and otherwise. So we’re extremely grateful to President Arévalo for his leadership in welcoming these unjustly detained individuals, and really more than anything for continuing to demonstrate democratic leadership in the region.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Our next question is going to be from Mary Beth Sheridan from The Washington Post. Mary Beth, you have the floor.

QUESTION: Can you hear me now? Oops.

QUESTION: Yeah, okay, great. Sorry. Thanks again very much for doing this. Can you walk us through a little bit how this all transpired? Was there a call from the Nicaraguan Government? Was – was it to the embassy? Was it to the State Department? Who was it from? And also, did Kamala Harris play a role in this? Thank you.

MR JACOBSTEIN: Great, thank you for that, Mary Beth. So this is – while we do not comment on diplomatic discussions, for us the important news here is that these foreign political prisoners are released and starting the difficult journey to reclaim their lives and freedom. More generally speaking, Congress has advocated for a long time for the release of the 13 individuals affiliated with Mountain Gateway, and we too as a result of collaboration with Congress, we have pushed for the release of these individuals. So we’ve advocated for a long time for the release of these individuals. The Nicaraguan Government agreed to release these individuals, along with others, for a total of 135 individuals.

And then in terms of the role of the U.S. Government, we have worked very closely with senior officials at the White House, certainly including the Vice President’s office, USAID, and the Department of Homeland Security. So it has been a true whole-of-government effort to ensure that this happened as quickly as possible.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Our next question is coming from Tracy Wilkinson from the LA Times. Tracy, you have the floor.

Tracy, do you have a question?

QUESTION: Can you hear me now?

QUESTION: Okay, sorry. I thought I unmuted. Sorry. Still can’t get this figured out four years later.

Some technical questions. Are all of the people released Nicaraguan nationals? Is anybody coming to the United States – the Texas group, for example? And do you have any ballpark figure on how many similarly unjustly detained people continue to be in Nicaraguan jails and prisons? Thanks.

MR JACOBSTEIN: Thanks, Tracy. So first of all, yes, all 135 of these individuals are Nicaraguan citizens. And so for us, it’s very important these individuals, again, have agency. So here in Guatemala, these individuals will have the option to pursue lawful pathways, including to the United States via processing through the United States Refugee Admission Program or to other countries. So some may ultimately choose local integration in Guatemala to the extent this option is available under Guatemalan law. But for us, the real key here is that these individuals are now free, they’re in Guatemala thanks to the partnership with President Arévalo, and now we will work closely with them to ensure that they’re able to avail themselves of various lawful pathways.

And then in terms of the total political prisoners, can’t speak to that at this moment, but happy to take that.

MODERATOR: The next question is from Simon Lewis with Reuters. Simon.

QUESTION: Hi. Can you hear me?

QUESTION: Yeah, great. Thank you. I just wanted to follow up on one thing from Tracy. I know you said you can’t say the total number of political prisoners, but I’m guessing there are some who are – based on the figures that I’ve seen, there are some people of a similar category who are still detained. So is there anything you can say on whether some people that the Nicaraguan Government refused to release, that you had to kind of settle for, or have you sort of got everyone who was the target of these negotiations?

And I’m guessing also you’re not – you’re not disclosing any of the names, but is there any sort of characterization you can give of the – some of the – particularly the members of the Catholic Church who were released that might give us an idea of the kind of profile?

And I just wanted to also follow up on something that came up in an earlier answer you mentioned slightly away from today’s events, but the cooperation between the Ortega government and Russia and China. I wonder if there’s anything you can – more you can say to sort of characterize that and how the U.S. views the roles of Russia and China sort of in propping up this government. Thank you.

MR JACOBSTEIN: Thank you. So let me try to take all three of those. So first of all, yes, Nicaragua continues to unjustly detain individuals. We believe that only Ortega and Murillo can control the freedom of these individuals, so we urge them to immediately and unconditionally release all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience in Nicaragua, and essentially allow all Nicaraguans to reclaim their lives free from repression and fear of reprisal.

In terms of the types of individuals, so obviously it’s the 13 individuals affiliated with Mountain Gateway, which is a Texas-based religious organization. Those released also include human rights defenders and Catholic laypeople – students as well. And then finally, in terms of Russia and China, this is extremely concerning, the collaboration between Ortega and Murillo and the Russia – Russia and the PRC, and we continue to be very concerned about it.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Our next question is from Celia Mendoza with Voice of America.

QUESTION: Great. Thank you so much for this. Can you hear me?

QUESTION: Great. Talking about the people – you mentioned it’s 135, all Nicaraguan citizens, and February 2023, I believe, is when they also did a massive release of prisoners, get them out of the country. They actually flew to the United States. Is any fear that it will be removal of citizenship or persecution of family members of these people that was – that are now in Guatemala? That is the first question.

And then the second – so we know that Ortega has received damning reports by the United Nations. Those were – play a part on the decision of the Ortega government to release this group of prisoners. And finally, we have received reports from the ground that says that they are now trying to round up other additional people to try to detain more people. Is that a fear from the United States that they will see – now that they don’t have these amount of people, they might start just rounding up additional people to try to have some leverage internationally? Thank you.

MR JACOBSTEIN: Thank you. So in terms of the citizenship question, I cannot speak to that, but obviously urge Ortega and Murillo not to do so, as they did with the 222. That was extremely troubling. In terms of the UN report, other reports, all advocacy is extremely helpful, and we urge the international community to continue to raise the voice – raise voices about the repression in Nicaragua.

Oh, and then – sorry, and then the third question you asked was fear of them doing this again. Absolutely. I mean, we – this is a government that continues to imprison individuals for exercising their fundamental freedoms so we continue to be extremely concerned about their actions right now and their future actions.

MODERATOR: Great. Our next question is from Tifani Roberts with Univision. Tifani, you have the floor.

QUESTION: Yes, hello. Hello, Mr. Jacobstein. Good to know that you’re in Guatemala. I wanted to ask you first: what was your personal take as you received the 135 political prisoners? Like what’s their shape? What do they look like? What’s their health? If you could just give us, like, an overall estimate on a personal level what you saw. And the other question I have is regarding Guatemala. How did Guatemala come about to be the country in Central America to be – like the stepping stone for these – that receive these prisoners? Did you try calling Costa Rica or any other countries that you tried to get involved before calling on Guatemala?

MR JACOBSTEIN: Thank you. So in terms of a personal take, certainly these are individuals some of whom have been victims of torture, so these individuals have had an extremely difficult time. We did find them generally in very good health and spirits. These individuals came off the plane saying “God bless America,” “God bless Guatemala” – extremely grateful, in good spirits. So obviously they’re moving on now to health support, psycho-social support. There was health support for them on the plane as well. But we do generally find that they were in good health and spirits, all things considered.

In terms of the question about conversations, I won’t get into diplomatic discussions but would just say that Guatemala was an obvious partner for this given its leadership in the role – leadership in the region, given the leadership of President Arévalo on issues, including human rights in the region.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Our next question comes from Christopher Sherman from the AP. Chris.

QUESTION: Hello. Can you hear me now?

QUESTION: Okay. Just one more precision on Tracy and Simon’s questions. Were there any prisoners that Nicaragua was willing to release who decided to not leave Nicaragua voluntarily, as we saw in some cases with the 222 back in February of last year?

MR JACOBSTEIN: Thanks for that question. Unfortunately, I can’t speak to the details of that.

MODERATOR: Great. Our next question is from Stefanie Bolzen.

QUESTION: Hello. Can you hear me?

QUESTION: Hello – hello. Thank you for doing this briefing. You said that the execution of the release was very rapid, very quick. Can you give any more details why the release has happened right now? Thank you.

MR JACOBSTEIN: Thank you. So it’s been months of advocacy, both from the executive branch and Congress, on the Mountain Gateway individuals but also broader political prisoners in Nicaragua. So we believe that certainly played an important role in leading to the release today.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Our next question is from Michele Kelemen from NPR.

Michele, if you’re there, you’re on mute.

QUESTION: Can you hear me this way?

MODERATOR: Yes, we can hear you now.

QUESTION: This is – okay. It was like I had to do space and hold or something; I’ve never seen that before. Anyway, Tifani kind of asked the question that I wanted to, but can you give us a little bit more flavor for what it was like, or are there any particular conversations you had with people that struck you as they got off the plane? And then also, how long do you think it’ll take for them to be processed to come to the U.S.? Is the U.S. paying for them to be able to stay in Guatemala during all of this time? Thank you.

MR JACOBSTEIN: Thank you very much. I would say one personal reaction I had in having conversations with some of these individuals is the true pettiness and cruelty of the regime who imprisoned individuals for things that are obviously – have no reason to put people in prison for, so extremely concerning. Hearing about the treatment of individuals in prison is also – was also very troublesome. So it continues to speak to our concerns about this government.

In terms of timing, our hope is to process – for these individuals to find lawful pathways as expeditiously as possible. And to your question on U.S. support, yes, the U.S. is providing assistance to support these individuals in the coming weeks and months. But again, we hope this to be as rapid as possible.

MODERATOR: Thank you. Our next question is from Javier Ansorena from ABC.

Javier, are you unable to unmute yourself?

Okay. Thank you all so much. We don’t have any additional questions in the queue, so we will go ahead and end this call, but thank you very much for joining us. And again, this was an on-the-record call and it – the embargo is now over, as the call has ended. Thank you.