Nicaraguan police place opposition leader under house arrest

FILE PHOTO: Presidential hopeful Cristiana Chamorro, who seeks to challenge longtime President Daniel Ortega in the national elections in November, leaves the Nicaragua Attorney General of the Republic office after the government announced a money laundering investigation against her, in Managua, Nicaragua May 21, 2021. REUTERS/Carlos Herrera

MANAGUA (Reuters) -Nicaraguan police stormed into the home of opposition leader Cristiana Chamorro on Wednesday, escalating a political battle ahead of elections later this year in which longtime leftist President Daniel Ortega is seeking to hold on to power.

The police placed Chamorro under house arrest, according to Chamorro's brother, journalist Carlos Chamorro, and continued to occupy the property in the capital Managua after raiding it more than five hours earlier, he wrote in a post on Twitter.