Carlos Vanegas Gómez

In early August 2024, Carlos was transferred to a punishment cell called cell 18, which has an iron door. It is extremely hot, and it is totally dark, which makes it impossible to know if it is day or night.

Carlos Alberto Vanegas Gómez, is 35 years old and is a bricklayer and baker, with no party affiliation. He is deprived of liberty in the Granada Penitentiary System.

In 2018, Carlos participated in the protests in Masaya, being arrested in 2018 and accused of organized crime, the murder of a police officer in the demonstrations, desecration of a corpse, robbery with intimidation (assault), extortion, aggravated damage and illegal possession of firearms.

During his first detention for political reasons, Carlos was deprived of liberty in the Jorge Navarro Penitentiary System, where he was a victim of violence. He was released on June 10, 2019 under Nicaragua’s Amnesty Law.

On January 26, 2022, through an operation by the Directorate of Special Operations of the Police, he was violently arrested, while he was in a barbershop in Masaya. His arrest came after police were watching him for several days, without being shown a warrant or the charges against him. The police beat him after pointing him out as a “murderer of a policeman”. The next day, he was transferred to the Granada Penitentiary System where people close to him managed to see him until 18 days later.

Currently, Carlos is being held in a punishment cell. In the criminal proceeding for aggravated robbery, the judgment of June 15, 2022 declared the dismissal of the criminal action and ordered his release. On 6 June 2023, the Court of Appeal upheld the release order. In the criminal proceeding for accusation of serious injuries, in the hearing of March 29, 2023, the Judiciary recalled that, in accordance with Article 134 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, a criminal proceeding with a person detained for serious crimes cannot last more than 3 months under penalty of facing trial in freedom. In the absence of a sentence, on March 22, 2024, the private lawyer filed a brief requesting the sentence and the issuance of a release order.

In early August 2024, Carlos was transferred to a punishment cell called cell 18, which has an iron door. It is extremely hot, and it is totally dark, which makes it impossible to know if it is day or night. In the cell where Carlos is, there are mosquitoes and insects. It does not have a bathroom, so an officer takes it to relieve itself in a nearby bathroom at some point during the day. If you have a physiological need before the officer leads you to the bathroom, you have to do it in your own cell.

Since he was transferred to cell 18, he only has the possibility of storing three liters of water a day, which he must use to consume it and to clean his cell or any other need.

In the last 3 years, Carlos has not had check-ups or adequate medical care, except for a surgery he had for an eye problem in July 2022, the results of which and medical records are not known. Despite that operation, his eyes continue to burn and his vision is blurry, in addition, the authorities removed his glasses. Additionally, Carlos usually has intestinal problems due to poor diet; fungus due to the unhealthiness of the cell, suffers a lot from headaches and is hindered by sunlight, due to the total confinement in which he finds himself.

Due to the serious risks to his life and personal integrity, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights granted him precautionary measures on December 16, 2024.

Freedom for Carlos Vanegas!

We demand from the Ortega-Murillo regime: Free Nicas Now!