Thousands protest anew in Nicaragua:
Lat/Am
Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to Nicaragua’s streets Wednesday, rallied by students demanding justice, democracy and the departure of President Daniel Ortega.
Throngs of young people, who have rallied on and off in weeks of demonstrations, chanted “They were students; they weren’t criminals” – referring to people killed in the unrest that exploded on April 18.
The protests broke out against Ortega in mid-April but their deadliness, the brutality of the repression by security forces and arbitrary arrests, sparked national outrage and fueled protests across the Central American nation.
Ortega, a 72-year-old leftist leader who has ruled Nicaragua for the past 11 years, has yet to engage in dialogue, despite increasing pleas from the Roman Catholic Church, which has offered to mediate.
Demonstrators chanted “They must go” and waved signs charging that Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, are “thieves” and “murderers.” (AFP)
Ortega
The Central America Security Conference was attended by officials from Central America, the United States, Canada and Mexico. (AP)
3 Mexican soldier killed:
Three Mexican soldiers were killed in an ambush in the violent state of Guerrero, in a town whose mayor was also found murdered the same day, the defense ministry has said.
After receiving an anonymous tip that armed men were hiding out at a ranch in the municipality of Coyuca de Catalan, an army patrol went to the site on Tuesday night and was attacked by unknown gunmen, the ministry said in a statement issued yesterday. “Three soldiers were killed. Three more were wounded and evacuated to military medical facilities,” it said. (AFP)
1m Venezuelans enter Colombia:
At least one million people have entered Colombia from Venezuela since President Nicolas Maduro’s government descended into crisis last year, a senior Red Cross official told AFP Wednesday.
The health director at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), Emanuele Capobianco, said that not all have stayed in Colombia as displaced people, with some moving on to other countries in the region. (AFP)
France probe closing in on suspects:
Brazilian authorities investigating the assassination of a Rio de Janeiro councilwoman are closing in on suspects, including a fellow councilman accused of links to paramilitary militias, two sources with knowledge of the investigation told Reuters on Wednesday.
Marielle Franco, an outspoken critic of the militias that control many impoverished areas of Brazils second-largest city, was shot four times in the head in March as she rode in a car in central Rio. Her driver was also killed. (RTRS)