Nicaragua arrests 40 opposition figures in new round-up of critics

FILE PHOTO: A man watches a local TV channel streaming the news conference of Magistrate Octavio Rothschuh announcing that more than 200 political prisoners in Nicaragua have been released and are being flown to the United States, in Managua, Nicaragua February 9, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo

(Reuters) - Forty political opponents of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega have been arrested and charged with crimes including conspiracy and treason in a new round-up of government critics, relatives of five of the detainees said on Thursday.

The opposition figures were detained on Wednesday night, taken to the capital Managua to be charged, then transferred back home to be placed under house arrest, the relatives told Reuters.