Miss Nicaragua pageant director announces her retirement after accusations of ‘conspiracy’

MEXICO CITY

The director of the Miss Nicaragua pageant on Monday announced her retirement from the organization, nine days after the Nicaraguan police accused her of “conspiracy” and other crimes along with her husband and son, who are detained.

“The time has come for my retirement,” Karen Celebertti wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I know that there will always be more opportunities for us.”

It was Celebertti’s first public statement after the scandal that followed the coronation of Sheynnis Palacios as Miss Universe on Nov. 18 in El Salvador.

Celebertti said she worked for 23 years “with zeal and effort” until Nicaragua won the world beauty crown this year. She described it “as an achievement for everyone” and “for every Nicaraguan, without political distinction.”

Palacios’ surprise victory unleashed demonstrations of joy in the streets of Nicaragua but prompted criticism by the government of Daniel Ortega.

According to the local press, immigration authorities prevented Celebertti and her daughter, Luciana, from entering the country on Nov. 22 after they attended Palacios’ coronation and accompanied her on a short trip to Mexico.

Later, it was announced that the police raided Celebertti’s home in the southwest of Managua and arrested her husband, Martín Argüello, and their son, Bernardo.

Without confirming the arrest, the authorities accused the three members of the Argüello-Celebertti family on Dec. 2 of treason, conspiracy and “organized crime.”

A statement by the National Police claimed Celebertti “participated actively, on the internet and in the streets in the terrorist actions of a failed coup,” an apparent reference to the protests in 2018.