Nicaraguan families beg for answers as dissenters vanish into state custody

FILE PHOTO: Pictures of people killed by Nicaraguan forces during the 2018 anti-government protests lie on the ground during a march by Nicaraguans exiled in Costa Rica to protest Nicaragua's presidential election, in San Jose, Costa Rica, November 7, 2021. REUTERS/Mayela Lopez/File Photo

MEXICO CITY, Oct 14 (Reuters) - ThelmaBrenes grew worried when her father in Nicaragua did not return ⁠her messages.

Retired Army Colonel Carlos Brenes, 71, lived with his wife, Salvadora Martinez, 69, on a rural property south of the capital Managua. Brenes'daughter Thelma, living in the Netherlands, asked a neighbor to check on the couple. He found ⁠the house empty.