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'World is Watching,' Pence Warns Nicaragua

by VOA News

   U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is demanding that the Daniel Ortega
   government in Nicaragua stop the violence now and hold early elections.

   "The world is watching," Pence tweeted Tuesday. "State-sponsored
   violence in Nicaragua is undeniable. Ortega's propaganda fools no one
   and changes nothing."

   Pence wrote that more than 350 had died "at the hands of the regime."
   Nicaraguan officials say the death toll is much lower.

   A Nicaraguan human rights group said four more people were killed
   Monday night in Managua, including a Brazilian medical student on the
   verge of graduating.

   The group accused pro-government civilians of firing on the car in
   which she was riding near the American University of Managua.

   The Brazilian foreign ministry expressed indignation at the killing and
   condemned "the deepening repression, the disproportionate and lethal
   use of force, and the use of paramilitary groups in operations
   coordinated by security forces."

   Anti-government protests erupted in Nicaragua in April when Ortega
   announced changes to the pension system. He has since given up those
   plans, but authorities continue to crack down on protesters.

   Ortega has called the protesters terrorists who are planning a coup. He
   is refusing to hold early elections, saying they would only make things
   worse.