Beauty contest - Miss Universe pageant leads to political unrest in Nicaragua
Two weeks after a Nicaraguan woman was crowned Miss Universe, the head of the national section of the beauty pageant in the Central American country has been accused of "treason" and "conspiracy" by the local police. Miss Nicaragua director Karen Celebertti and her son and husband had actively participated in the "terrorist acts of the failed coup attempt" of 2018, the Nicaraguan police announced on Friday (local time).
The police were referring to the protests against head of state Daniel Ortega at the time, which were violently suppressed by the security forces. The new Miss Universe, Sheynnis Palacios, had taken part in the 2018 demonstrations.
People celebrated Miss Nicaragua in the streets
Her election as Miss Universe was celebrated by crowds on the streets of Nicaragua. These were the largest public gatherings in the country since the authorities banned all opposition demonstrations five years ago.
The police have now declared that Miss Nicaragua director Celebertti and her husband and son have since been in contact with "exponents of treason against the fatherland". They had wanted to use the beauty pageant platforms for "political ambushes" "financed by foreign agents".
Was Celebertti banned from re-entering the country?
According to Nicaraguan media reports, Celebertti's husband and son were arrested. The whereabouts of the Miss Nicaragua leader were unclear. The Nicaraguan writer Gioconda Belli, who lives in exile in Spain, announced a week ago that the Nicaraguan authorities had banned Celebertti from re-entering her home country. The Miss Universe final had taken place in El Salvador in Central America.
According to the UN, more than 300 people were killed during the suppression of the 2018 protests. More than 200 people ended up in prison. Former guerrilla Ortega has been in office without interruption since 2007. Critics accuse him of having developed an increasingly repressive style of government over the years. Ortega had previously ruled between 1979 and 1990, after the left-wing Sandinista guerrillas led by him overthrew the dictator Anastasio Somoza.
Read also:
- The 'Headlines' surrounding Miss Universe's pageant in Nicaragua have been dominated by the alleged involvement of Karen Celebertti, the former director of Miss Nicaragua, in the 2018 unrest.
- The 'Top news' in Nicaragua currently includes the accusations of 'treason' and 'conspiracy' levied against Celebertti and her family, in connection with the 2018 protests against Daniel Ortega.
- Despite being crowned Miss Universe, Celebertti's participation in the 2018 'Miss Universe' beauty contest might have led to unintended political consequences, as she was a vocal supporter of the anti-Ortega protests.
- The Miss Universe pageant, held in Central America, has unwittingly become a platform for 'political ambushes', as the Nicaraguan authorities allege, with foreign agents involved and Miss Nicaragua director Celebertti at the center of the controversy.
Source: www.stern.de
