Thousands march in Nicaragua in support of govt opponents' expulsion

Several thousand pro-government demonstrators marched in Nicaragua in support of the expulsion of 222 critics of President Daniel Ortega's government, which has called them "traitors to the homeland."

The Central American nation released the detained dissidents and exiled them to the United States, a move welcomed by Washington, which has imposed sanctions over Ortega's crackdown on the political opposition.

The pro-government demonstrators passed through the streets of the capital Managua waving flags of Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba and Ortega's ruling party, and chanting pro-administration and anti-opposition slogans.

Some even carried balloons in the shape of an aeroplane, in reference to the chartered flight that transported the detainees to Washington.

Since 2007, the leader has engaged in increasingly authoritarian practices, quashing presidential term limits and seizing control of all branches of the state.

The freed detainees had been arrested in a wave of repression that followed 2018 protests demanding Ortega cede power.

A Nicaraguan court official this month said the 222 prisoners were "deported" and called them "traitors to the homeland."

Nicaragua's legislature has moved to strip the dissidents of their citizenship, which must be voted on later this year to become law.

A US official said everyone in the group –- including former presidential candidates, ministers and diplomats -- had consented to travel to the United States, except two who chose to stay in Nicaragua.