U.S. heads for record Nicaragua deportations, despite Ortega criticism

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo gesture during a march called "We walk for peace and life. Justice" in Managua, Nicaragua, September 5, 2018. REUTERS/Oswaldo Rivas

(Reuters) - The United States began deporting a record number of Nicaraguan migrants this year data reviewed by Reuters show, as people flee the Central American country to escape a crackdown against dissent by President Daniel Ortega.

Erlinton Ortiz was deported last year, one of over 5,000 Nicaraguans returned from the United States since 2019, into the hands of an administration that Washington has accused of civil rights abuses, corruption and holding sham elections.