Edward Lacayo

Edward Enrique Lacayo, the entrepreneur from Masaya who joined the protests after the April 2018 crisis

Edward Enrique Lacayo, 48 years old, is originally from Monimbó, Masaya, owner of a metal workshop in which he manufactured mills, benches and iron lanterns, among others. Edward is the father of three children, the youngest of 3 years old, after the repression of the protests in Masaya in April 2018, he actively participated in the social protests.

Since then, his mother and sister have been constantly besieged by police and para-police at their home in Masaya, preventing them from leaving their home, giving them persecution, following them and taking photographs of them wherever they go, because they publicly demanded Edward’s release.

Edward was arrested by armed civilians, on March 14, 2019, in the community of El Ostional in Rivas, when he was trying to leave for exile to protect his life and freedom. He was charged by the Public Prosecutor’s Office for the crimes of organized crime, terrorism and illegal transportation of narcotics, psychotropic and other controlled substances. He was sentenced in July 2019 by Judge Rosa Aracelly Rubí to 15 years in prison. In Nicaragua, the practice of authorities implanting drugs in members of the opposition and in other cases, weapons, and then presenting them as evidence, has been widely documented.

Edward is currently serving his sentence in the Jorge Navarro Penitentiary System known as “la Modelo”. He has presented health problems, from sores in his mouth, due to not having access to dental hygiene products, to skin problems such as skin itches, he has not had access to soap or deodorant, despite the fact that his relatives deliver in parcels and sign a delivery document, however, the prison authorities do not give him the proper delivery.

He has remained in the punishment cell, known as 300, where he is being held in inhumane conditions. According to his relatives, in the cell where he is being held there are common inmates of high danger and have beaten him, also people with contagious diseases have entered the cell, his relatives have reported that during some visits they have found him with signs of aggression on his body.

Edward suffers from diabetes, with unstable glucose levels due to the lack of access to specialized medical care required by prison authorities.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) granted him precautionary measures in November 2020, along with 40 other political prisoners, where it resolved that the State of Nicaragua should adopt the possibility of measures for the deprivation of liberty, but the regime has disregarded them.

Freedom for Edward Enrique Lacayo!

We demand the Ortega-Murillo regime: NicasLibresYa!