MANAGUA, (Reuters) – Nicaraguan police detained the two top executives of the nation’s largest business association yesterday, amid a wave of arrests ahead of Nov. 7 elections in which President Daniel Ortega will seek a fourth consecutive term, according to the association and authorities.
The Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP) president, Michael Healy, was detained after leaving an interview at the attorney general’s office, and its vice president, Alvaro Vargas, was arrested at home.
Both men are members of the Civic Alliance, an opposition group that has suffered the arrest of two presidential candidates.
The executives are accused of “laundering money, property and assets to the detriment of the Nicaraguan state and society,” as well as calling for foreign intervention and sanctions against Nicaragua, local police said in a statement.
