Ortega regime strips 94 Nicaraguans of their citizenship

Some of country’s most celebrated writers and journalists targeted as political crackdown intensifies

• Nicaragua’s prisoners flew to freedom – but Ortega’s not going anywhere

Daniel Ortega’s authoritarian regime has intensified its political crackdown, stripping 94 Nicaraguans of their citizenship including some of the Central American country’s most celebrated writers and journalists, among them the Guardian contributor Wilfredo Miranda.

The move was announced by a Nicaraguan judge on Wednesday and sparked renewed condemnation of Ortega’s Sandinista government, which has been waging a dogged offensive against perceived rivals since June 2021.