Nicaragua's Interior Ministry announced on Thursday a money-laundering probe against opposition politician Cristiana Chamorro, as authorities have gathered "clear evidence" of her financial crimes.
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Chamorro, who seeks to challenge president Daniel Ortega in November's presidential election, met with prosecutors on Friday to discuss the law violations regarding the "Violeta Barrios de Chamorros" foundation she directed until February 2021. The authorities reviewed the financial statements from 2015 to 2019.
"The Ministry of the Interior issued this Thursday, May 20, 2021, a Press Release informing about the MIGOB's summons to Cristiana Chamorro Barrios, Walter Antonio Gómez Silva and Marco Antonio Fletes Casco."
Currently, Chamorro works as the vice-president of the newspaper La Prensa, a national media outlet and family business ran by her father Pedro Joaquin Chamorro until he died in 1976. Her mother, Violeta Barrios de Chamorro served as president since 1990 to 1997.
Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega warned of "foreign agents" trying to interfere in the country, and the parliament approved a law to track foreign funding organizations based in the country. After the law was passed, Chamorro's foundation closed its operations in Nicaragua.