As Demonstrators Demand Nicaraguan President's Resignation, Government Accuses Opposition of Coup
by mail@democracynow.org (Democracy Now!) from Democracy Now! on (#3SK2J)
The political crisis in Nicaragua is intensifying. More than 178 people have been killed since widespread demonstrations to oust Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega began in mid-April, when his government announced plans to overhaul and slash social security. Amnesty International has accused the Nicaraguan government of using "pro-government armed groups to carry out attacks, incite violence, increase their capacity for repression and operate outside the law." But the Nicaraguan government has blamed part of the violence on armed members of the opposition who are trying to overthrow the democratically elected government. We speak with Paul Oquist, senior minister for national policy in the Nicaraguan government.