The death of a journalist covering protests in Nicaragua has been captured on camera as he filmed on Facebook Live.Angel Gahona was reporting live on unrest in the central American country when he was shot dead.
MANAGUA: Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega repealed changes to the country’s social security system Sunday night that triggered riots that led to the deaths of at least 26 people since Wednesday.Nicaragua has been one of the more stable countries in Central America.
The overhaul had sought to shore up Nicaragua’s troubled social security system with a combination of reduced benefits and increased taxes. Human rights groups say at least 26 people have been killed in several days of clashes. Dozens of shops in Managua, the capital, have been looted.
Pope Francis called for an end to the violence in Nicaragua today and called for differences to be “resolved peacefully and with a sense of responsibility”.
“The young journalist was covering Saturday night vandalism and criminal acts when these murderers put an end to his life after shooting him in the head,” El 19 Digital said on its website.
The reform to the Social Security, which included an increase of the quotas of workers and employers up to 22.5 percent and a 5% tax on current and future pensions, provoked a strong rejection and protests throughout the country, especially after the violent police reaction.
Meanwhile, Costa Rica and the United States recommended their citizens not to travel to Nicaragua at this time.Members of a Bermudian girls’ football squad were evacuated from Nicaragua today after continued riots in the streets of the capital Managua.
The Bermuda Under-17 football team had travelled to the Central American nation to compete in the Concacaf Championships.But the championships were cancelled today due to continued violence between protesters and police.
The Nicaraguan leader has faced protests before, but at no point since his 2007 re-election have so many sectors united against him in what has become the greatest test of his presidency.
