When Americans think of patriots, they link the title, many times, to heroes of the Revolutionary War. Names like Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and Hancock come to mind. We use the word patriot to describe men who are willing to risk their own personal freedom for the freedom of others. I am posting this article because Americans take their freedoms for granted at times and need to know about human rights violations occurring in many places in our world. The U.S. has made 250 years. Others are not so fortunate. Many other countries are in constant turmoil. Nicaragua has been one of those countries for some time now.
Rep. Shelby, Rommel Moreno, Ariel Teran, Dir. Peggy Maruthur, Bob Driggers, German Zeledon, Augusto Ayala, Francisco Valdivia
Back in September of 2009 the citizens of Hot Springs, Arkansas were privileged to visit with six such patriots. The six men were from Nicaragua. Less than one year earlier, on November 9th, 2008, elections were held throughout Nicaragua. On that day, five of our visitors were elected mayors of five of the largest cities in the Central American nation.
Within two weeks of the election, each had been told that the vote count was incorrect and that another candidate was the real winner. All of the new “winners” were candidates supported by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. Similar election result “corrections” occurred in 43 municipalities in Nicaragua.
The six individuals visiting Hot Springs were here to tell their stories and to learn how to handle the situation in which they found themselves. They were here on a State Department funded tour of several cities in the United States. The group met with 11 different organizations including one in Washington D.C. attempting to gain information to help their nation solve its problems. What better place to come than a nation that has overcome such obstacles in its past?
Mr. Bob Driggers, of the Garland County Good Government Group (located in Hot Springs, Arkansas), welcomed our visitors and noted several local representatives in attendance. The names of the six Nicaraguan patriots that were present at the meeting held at the Transportation Depot are (see picture above):
Mr. Augusto Ayala elected Mayor of Juigalpa
Mr. German Zeledon elected Mayor of Jinotega
Dr. Rommel Moreno elected Mayor of Corinto
Mr. Francisco Valdivia elected Mayor of Masaya
Mr. Ariel Teran elected Mayor of Leon
Mr. Anibal Rosales of Granada, a political marketing specialist who helped Mr. Teran win his election.
After introductions, Mr. Driggers allowed Mayor Mike Bush to address our visitors. Mayor Bush welcomed our guests and informed them that Hot Springs has not suffered the financial strain that much of the nation is feeling. He added that the effects of the national economy are beginning to take a toll on the area. After his remarks, Mayor Bush had to leave.
Mayor Mike Bush officially welcomes Augusto Ayala, German Zeledon, Rommel Moreno, Francisco Valdivia, Anibal Rosales, Ariel Teran, and U.S. State Department representative Ed Velam
Mr. Driggers then welcomed Dr. Gene Shelby, a Hot Springs resident and District 25 Representative to the Arkansas House of Representatives. Mr. Shelby also welcomed our guests and applauded them for the efforts they were making to help the people of Nicaragua. He mentioned the low voter turnout at recent school board elections, referring to the fact that many Americans take their freedoms for granted. He also thanked the Garland Good Government Group for its efforts to make Hot Springs a better place to live.
Representative Gene Shelby
Ms. Peggy Maruthur was the next local representative to address our new friends. Ms. Maruthur thanked Peggy and Duane Vandenberg for hosting the group. She then explained her responsibilities as a Hot Springs City Director and noted that she had been elected by the people to represent them as a whole and not only those who had more influence than others.
Director Peggy Maruthur
Before Mr. Driggers presented a short Power Point on the recent efforts of the Garland Good Government Group, he recognized the presence of Director Elaine Jones (BOD Dist. 2) Quorum Court member Bud West (J.P. Dist. 9), and Garland County Treasurer Jo West Taylor.
Following the Good Government presentation, Mr. Ariel Teran began an explanation of recent events in Nicaragua. Mr. Teran, a graduate of an American University, and spokesman for the group, presented a short video entitled, “A Democracy Becoming a Dictatorship.” The video showed attempts at peaceful demonstrations and disruptions by youths being paid $10 a day by President Ortega. One scene showed a journalist being stabbed by a man with a machete. The video also showed a statement made by the Nicaraguan Attorney General and pictures of vandalized radio stations. Included were clips taken just two weeks before this visit of protesting students being accosted by paramilitary forces.
The Good Government Power Point had been presented with Spanish Text. The video shown by Mr. Teran had English text. One of the lines read, “To be silent and not act now…would be a great irresponsibility.”
Mr. Teran described how he had been personally affected by the recent events. “This is not a left or right issue. It’s a matter of Nationality,” Mr. Teran explained. He also explained that 2010 elections would be held by the congressmen of Nicaragua to choose the Electoral College. Mr. Teran expressed the fears of many that President Ortega might attempt to bribe the congressmen into his camp. Later in the meeting it was mentioned that money was being sent to Ortega by Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.
Mr. Teran explained that the problems began in 2006 when the opposition split into two groups. This allowed Ortega to win the Presidential seat with 38% of the vote. Ortega had been defeated by Violeta Barrios de Chamorro in the 1990 presidential election, but he remained an important figure in Nicaraguan opposition politics. Ortega was an unsuccessful candidate for president in 1996 and 2001 before winning the 2006 presidential election.
Mr. Teran said, “Ortega has 34% of the people, but he doesn’t have the congressmen. With the help of God we can make a difference.”
Once the question and answer period began, the first question came from Mr. Driggers who asked about current American assistance to the opposition (of Ortega). Mr. Teran stated that the U.S. government is currently not pushing to help the opposition. “We are not seeking financial assistance,” he said. “We just want the U.S. to sit down with us and listen to what has to be done.”
The other patriots got up and spoke. An interpreter translated for the audience. “Everything is contaminated,” stated Mr. Ayala. “We want to go back to our country and be watchdogs like you,” he said.
Mr. Rosales showed proof of the corruption. Dr. Moreno shared his experience of being elected as mayor and then having his position taken from him. They expressed how they had worked hard and won elections against Ortega’s representatives who were well funded. Mr. Zeledon and Mr. Valdivia also described their experiences and thanked the residents of Hot Springs, as the others had done for the warm welcome they had received.
Tom Brown, Good Government Group member and descendent of U.S. President John Adams with Ariel Teran and Anibal Rosales
Mr. Teran showed pictures of ballots that had been found at the dump in Leon, where he had been declared the mayor. The ballots were clearly marked as votes for Mr. Teran. “We took the ballots to the police and we made the national news,” Mr. Teran said. The case was never pursued.
Mr. Driggers made a few concluding remarks and thanked Ms. Barbara Anable for set up and refreshments. At this point, the entire Nicaraguan delegation gave Ms. Anable a standing ovation.
There was a good deal of discussion after the meeting was adjourned. In an interview with Mr. Teran, he stated that his father had been the founder of the baseball team in Leon. Leon has been a city that has had a lot of media attention during the recent political upheaval.
Earlier in this same month, I was fortunate enough to attend and report on an event that included the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, one of our U.S. Senators, one of our Reps. to the U.S. House of Representatives, and two other high ranking officials. I thought this would be the biggest thing I would be attending this year. With all due respect to the public servants I listened to that day, I have to say that this event with the Nicaraguan Patriots inspired me more than any event that I have yet covered.
An audience member enlightened me about the risk that these men were taking by coming to our country. We were all well aware of the risks they had already taken in their own country. Apparent was the courtesy, kindness, integrity, and humility of our visitors from Nicaragua. They were taking a stand for the principles of freedom, just like the difficult stand that our Revolutionary War patriots took. It was a moving experience.
Chris Reimers
***
I believe I was the only journalist present for the event with the Nicaraguans. At the time I was writing a news blog with the same name as this blog and this article appeared there and can still be seen here on the ggggnews page. Scroll down if you wish to see the original article. I’ve made a few changes above for easier reading.
The Nicaraguan patriots went back to their county with the hopes of attempting to help create a more transparent and honest government. I kept track as well as I could but contact information they had left became no longer available. Of course, I had heard that Ortega and his followers were creating a mess.
Then, on August 15, 2018, This message appeared on my “about” page and is still there near the bottom:
“Hi Chris, do you remember me? I am Aníbal Rosales, from your article ‘Nicaraguan Patriots Visit Hot Springs’ in October 2009. It is very sad what Nicaragua is living now, what in 2009 seemed like a distant future has arrived. Ortega took all the powers of the state, the presidency, the supreme court of justice, the electoral power and the assembly, he completed his project of dictatorship. Now he is killing his own people, for having raised us to protest against him, since last April 18, more than 350 people have died, there are more than 500 unjustly arrested, many disappeared and many people fleeing in Costa Rica and others living hidden in safe houses, so that the government does not kill them. We have a real humanitarian crisis, there are thousands of people who need shelter, food and medicine. If you can, tell this story to our friends in Hot Springs.”
I responded to Mr. Rosales as best as I could and was surprised that he remembered me and that he had found my blog which now had a new format and a different web address. I was no longer writing as a journalist.
Since then I have checked on Nicaragua from time from time. Essentially, Ortega now has a stranglehold on his position. “In the 2021 Nicaraguan presidential election, President Daniel Ortega effectively became the only viable candidate on the ballot after his government systematically suppressed political pluralism. He eliminated his opposition by jailing seven major presidential challengers and disqualifying all other serious competition, cementing his hold on power in an election that was widely condemned by the international community.”
We Americans should be thankful for our continued freedoms when we read about a country like Nicaragua. Yes, it is in the Western Hemisphere and somehow seems to avoid the attention it should get for its human rights violations. Still, much has been written and discussed about this problem, even though it almost never hits the mainstream news.
Here are other resources if you are interested in knowing more:
I pray for the people of Nicaragua and the patriots I met from there back in 2009. Life has gotten much harder for most of the citizens there since that time. May God be with them.
The 12th and 13th cases in the past three years finding the Norwegian Child Welfare Services guilty of human rights offenses were decided on November 25th. If you would like to see the details of the cases and the statements of the Court, you can find them here and here.
If you would like to see all 13 decisions (now 24 less only 3 years later), you can find them here. I am thankful to Professor Marianne Skanland for compiling this list of cases.
As the number of such cases begin to pile up, it seems that the Norwegian Child Welfare services are oblivious to such proceedings. This response is inexcusable.
I was told by a case worker in Norway years ago that I shouldn’t be so concerned about Norway but should look to the problems within the American Child Protection Services. He was correct that we have similar problems in the U.S. and I have focused on them in more than one post. Here is one important article that focuses on promoters of forced adoption in the U.S. At the same time, American parents seem to have a better chance not to lose their children forever. There is no question we have problems here that need resolution. In my neck of the woods, the CPS appears to attempt reunification of parents with their children in a good percentage of cases. I know that things are not as good in many places in the U.S. And we have had our own strange cases here in Garland County.
One of the strangest Norway style events here involved the Stanley family in January of 2015. You can click on this sentence, taken from one of the reports of the incident, to see the entire story:
All of the Stanley children were rightfully returned to the parents eventually.
Here is a report and video from five months after the Stanley children were taken.
This is the video from the report:
What is happening in Norway garnered worldwide protests in 2016. The same types of incidents have created protests in rural Arkansas and in many other places in America. “Childnapping” is happening in the U.S. Sweden, Denmark, and England are just a few of the other countries where this problem has gotten very real to parents who never suspected that their children would be taken from them. This is a “first world” problem that many in Norway argue has become an industry. Thus, the focus on Norway which has sociologists that argue that half of all parents are not able to care for their children as well as the government can.
An interesting new “front” on the war against human rights violations towards families is taking place in Poland. A group called Ordo Iuris Institute for Legal Culture has taken an active role in several social questions, among them helping families against such injustices. It is a Polish Catholic organization and think tank. Not a fan of Catholic theology, I am a big fan of those trying to help others escape the long reach of certain governmental agencies that are in the business of wrecking families.
Ordo luris states in one of it’s publications that:
“…not only parents from Poland are asking for help from our lawyers, but also Poles from Germany, Norway and Great Britain, where the actions of oppressive child welfare offices lead to real tragedies. We cannot allow similar tragedies to take place in Poland as well.”
Here is one of the recent cases published by Ordo luris:
“Apart from co-creating pro-family law, it is equally important to provide comprehensive legal assistance to parents whose children are unjustly taken away. Recently, the quick reaction of Ordo Iuris lawyers led to the return of nine wrongly taken children to their mother, Mrs Ewa Bryła.
The children were placed in foster care, because the probation officer, after four months of supervision, arbitrarily stated that the mother was allegedly unable to raise them. The local Commune Social Welfare Center, which has been supporting the family for two years, did not agree with this opinion. The head of the center emphasized that during the long-term cooperation with the family, he had not noticed any gross irregularities that would authorize state authorities to take the children away from their mother. Its employees pointed out that the separation of the family was extremely harmful to the children and exposed them to breaking family ties with their mother, which are extremely strong.
Also, the doctor looking after the children did not say that they were neglected. On the other hand, the medical staff ensured that minors were guaranteed appropriate care. The local police pointed out that there were no interventions at Ewa’s house, no Blue Card procedure was initiated, and there was no addiction problem. In the family, there was only a problem with meeting the children’s compulsory schooling. However, Ewa, in cooperation with the family assistant and social workers, worked to overcome the emerging difficulties. The mother provided her children with the right conditions, encouraged them to learn, helped with homework and taught them good behavior.“
The goal here is to keep people apprised of the issue to a degree that puts this subject beyond the suspicion that this is some conspiracy theory. The problem is real. It does not get the coverage it should because of all of the other societal problems facing us in our times.
Francisco Valdivia, Anibal Rosales, Ariel Teran, Augusto Ayala, German Zeledon, and Rommel Moreno Photo from http://www.ggggnews.com/News.htm
Received here only a few days ago…
“Hi Chris, do you remember me? I am Aníbal Rosales, from your article “Nicaraguan Patriots Visit Hot Springs” in October 2009. It is very sad what Nicaragua is living now, what in 2009 seemed like a distant future has arrived. Ortega took all the powers of the state, the presidency, the supreme court of justice, the electoral power and the assembly, he completed his project of dictatorship. Now he is killing his own people, for having raised us to protest against him, since last April 18, more than 350 people have died, there are more than 500 unjustly arrested, many disappeared and many people fleeing in Costa Rica and others living hidden in safe houses, so that the government does not kill them. We have a real humanitarian crisis, there are thousands of people who need shelter, food and medicine. If you can, tell this story to our friends in Hot Springs.”
After searching the internet for news of this situation, I’ve found that Anibal is not exaggerating. It is very sad news, indeed. The Nicaraguan Patriots who visited Hot Springs were, at the time, working to reverse the corrupt government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. They came here to get ideas on how to do just that. It is one of the highlights of my 23 years in Hot Springs.
From the several news sources that I’ve read, the Catholic Churches are being targeted in particular and, of course, anyone who protests the government policies. Anyone who wishes to see the article Anibal is referring to may see it here:
http://www.ggggnews.com/News.htm (You will have to scroll down to the September 18th, 2009 entry. It is not that far down the page!)
The article describes corruption that these brave men were dealing with at the time. It was bad then, but as Anibal has noted, things have deteriorated substantially.
Please pray for our friends in Nicaragua.
Chris Reimers
Rep. Shelby, Rommel Moreno, Ariel Teran, Dir. Peggy Maruthur, Bob Driggers, German Zeledon, Augusto Ayala, Francisco Valdivia Photo at http://www.ggggnews.com/News.htm
The few articles I have read recently (The first two were published yesterday):
“Ortega has been president of Nicaragua since 2007, and oversaw the abolition of presidential term limits in 2014. His wife, Rosario Murillo, is also his vice president.”
I would like to thank Josh Mogovan for filming our event. I also want to thank all of those from the Betania Romanian Church who offered their time, talents, and resources to help make this event possible.
God’s blessings…
Chris Reimers
If you don’t see the video, click on the title of this post and you should see it.
There were 12 posts added to this blog this week. Two-thirds of the posts have to do with a corrupt system called the Barnevernet, the Norwegian version of our Child Protective Services. I hope you are interested in the subject. If so, please check out “RECENT POSTS” at the right. Also posted are two messages from pastors and one from Greg Hunter whose knowledgeable guest talked about the Middle East. Finally, there is THE COMPETITIVENESS OF MANKIND. My friend Manny called it a: “Cute (short) flick with a point.”
I was fortunate to teach in Garland County Schools and even got a day in at National Park Community College. Classes there include students from many high schools in the area. I taught the criminal justice class.
People have some great educational opportunities in the Hot Springs community.
I hope that all have a wonderful week in the Lord.
I would like to thank Josh Mogovan for filming our event. I also want to thank all of those from the Betania Romanian Church who offered their time, talents, and resources to help make this event possible.
God’s blessings…
Chris Reimers
If you don’t see the video, click on the title of this post and you should see it.
Brian Smoke of the Arkansas Herald put this together. He happened to be passing by, saw our protest, and brought out his camera. I think he’s done an outstanding job here. Please leave comments telling him that you appreciate that he covered this protest.
Over the past few weeks, blog posts and social media information and statements about this Saturday’s Worldwide protest have continued to multiply. I have already communicated the Hot Springs event here. I have no idea how many will show up. There might be 10. There might be 50. The number doesn’t matter to me as the worldwide demonstration will have plenty of people. I thought we should be represented.
I hope you can show up at a local demonstration near you.
Chris Reimers
Here are Jitka Fialova’s comments:
Anti-Norwegian CPS message by Jitka Fialová from Czech Republic
With Every day that passes more incriminating evidence piles up against Barnevernet. Here is an argumentative discourse by Mrs. Jitka Fialová from Czech Republic, one of the administrators of the page: “Norway, give us back the children you stole”. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWCSC2obqQY (The video above)
“I am Jitka Fialová, a mother of three and one of admins on the page Norway, give us back the children you stole. I joined the stop barnevernet movement about a year ago when I was informed about the story of Eva Michalaková. In this case, her 2 children were taken by Barnevernet after false accusations and separated not only from their mother and father but also from all other relatives, their language, their culture and from each other. I found out, that Children’s rights in Norway are not valued like I would expect in this reportedly most democratic country in the world. An arrested criminal has far better legal protection than small children who are being taken away from their families without any provocation and placed with total strangers. Criminals can be held only a few hours in custody to be evaluated by an experienced police lawyer. A small acutely replaced child may have to wait several months for a careful evaluation of whether the conditions for snatching him or her were met! With my engagement in this issue I want to prove that an Eastern country like the Czech Republic can be more civilized than Norway because we do care about our families. So please join demonstrations around the world on April 16th to stop Barnevernet.
My friends in Norway, please go to Oslo, Stryn, Bergen or any other city where a protest is scheduled to join the fight against Barnevernet!”.
What a wonderful week it has been! Sunday night, I was invited to speak at the Betania Romanian Church here in Hot Springs. They were such a gracious group of believers. I informed them that I was practicing my speech for the upcoming worldwide protest on them and they were very attentive. After an hour of worship and Bible Reading, I was given the opportunity to share my speech. Brother Gabriel translated the speech into Romanian. There were about 120 or so in the congregation, maybe more. Some of the members in the church knew more about the Norwegian problem than I do. Brother Daniel has become my contact and thinks that maybe 50 people will show up from his church at the demonstration on April 16th.
The speech was interesting. It was the first time that I have had to hold back tears during this learning experience. The training I received at Toastmasters (a speech club I once belonged to) was very helpful.
THAT WAS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEK!
This is how the blog week started:
A post was then put up about the coming worldwide demonstration. Here is an excellent video showing demonstrations that have already occurred this year:
I’m a bit of a theology guy if you haven’t noticed. Dan’s blog, The Battle Cry, which I have been following for years had a great article that I re-blogged this week. It featured Pastor Gary Gilley of The Southern View Chapel. I have great respect for the discernment of Pastor Gilley.
Two posts were then re-blogged, one by my blogging buddy, Manny Rodriquez and other by my American/Romanian friend Chris Prunean. Chris had great news! A judge in Norway made a judgement that baby Ezekiel must be returned to the Bodnariu Family! A CPS worker has stated that there may be an appeal in the case, but for now the baby is home with his parents who are praying for a similar judgement in the cases of their other 4 children.
Ezekiel’s homecoming Photo from Delight in Truth’s blog
American students are supposed to take American History in 5th grade, 8th grade, 12th grade, and again in college. THIS POST WAS SENT TO ME BY BARBARA ANABLE. How is it possible that any American college student can’t answer the question: “Who won the Civil War?”
On Thursday, Jose Fernandez, the Superintendent of Hot Springs National Park approved my Special Use Permit request for a demonstration here in Hot Springs on the day of Worldwide protests. I would like to thank Tricia, Jose’s assistant, for her professional handling of my request. THE DETAILS OF THE HOT SPRINGS PROTEST CAN BE FOUND HERE.
By the grace of God, I was able to manage to squeeze in four days of teaching in different area schools. We have wonderful children living in our area. I got to teach Jr. High Social Studies, keyboarding, and music. Friday was fantastic. I got to spend my day with the special ed. kids at Fountain Lake Elementary.
I have received the Special Use Permit required to gather at a First Amendment location within Hot Springs National Park. Here’s a close copy of the press release given to the local newspaper, The Sentinel Record, today.
(The press release was the tri-fold flyer we plan to hand out that day complete with updated material. The current handout includes the release of Ezekiel. As a CPS worker has stated that an appeal may be made by the CPS in the baby’s case, we hope this information stays current.)
When: 16th of April, 2016
Time: 10am-12pm
Where: Near the National Park office sign (above) at 101 Reserve Street at the corner of Central and Reserve at 10:00 a.m. If we have more than 25 people, we will have to spread out on the sidewalk near the fountain across the street. We will walk down the sidewalk at bathhouse row, impeding no other pedestrians, to the 1st Amendment Area on the Arlington Lawn across from the Arlington Hotel. We should be there around 10:30 a.m. After a prayer, a few songs, and a few speeches, we will return to where we began. The Arlington Lawn protest should last no longer than 1 hour.
Parking: Parking may be difficult as this is the final day of horse racing at Oaklawn. If there are no spaces at Hill Wheatly Plaza, parking should be available in the city’s free parking garage on Central Avenue. If you find no spaces there, you will probably be able to find a spot on one of the side streets near Hill Wheatly Plaza. Parking by the Arlington Hotel may be difficult for those who don’t want to walk bathhouse row. Arrive at least 15-20 minutes early to find parking.
I will be staying after the event until 2:00 to hand out flyers on the sidewalk on Central Avenue. If you wish to help, that would be great. I will give a brief “handout training” when we return to 101 Reserve Street.
Born Again
Beth is a born again Christian who lives in Canada. She believes that Jesus is the the way, the truth, and the life and she also believes that we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. She blogs on a variety of topics.
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Elizabeth is a writer of Evangelical Christian books based in Ireland. Her books are currently published under “Ready Writer Publications.” Her blog is a testimony to her Christian faith and always an enjoyable read.
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Tom has a loving heart for Catholics and his blog is an attempt to help those in Catholic churches understand that we are saved by grace alone. He blogs on a variety of topics.
Heavenly Raindrops
God-inspired words and images to bring blessings like rain
m'Kayla's korner
Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness. Luke 11:35
Mrs. Acuna's Blog
If you have a teenager or anyone close to being one, this is a must read
REASONED CASES FOR CHRIST
Bruce Cooper’s excellent Christian Apologetic Resources For Laypersons is a place that I’ve been visiting more often as time goes by. You should too!
The Domain for Truth
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A blog to help Christians in Australia connect the dots…(it’s helped me here in the “good” ole U.S.A.)
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Posted by Chris 
Wings of the Wind 
Nicaragua 2009 – 2026
July 7, 2026When Americans think of patriots, they link the title, many times, to heroes of the Revolutionary War. Names like Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin, and Hancock come to mind. We use the word patriot to describe men who are willing to risk their own personal freedom for the freedom of others. I am posting this article because Americans take their freedoms for granted at times and need to know about human rights violations occurring in many places in our world. The U.S. has made 250 years. Others are not so fortunate. Many other countries are in constant turmoil. Nicaragua has been one of those countries for some time now.
Back in September of 2009 the citizens of Hot Springs, Arkansas were privileged to visit with six such patriots. The six men were from Nicaragua. Less than one year earlier, on November 9th, 2008, elections were held throughout Nicaragua. On that day, five of our visitors were elected mayors of five of the largest cities in the Central American nation.
Within two weeks of the election, each had been told that the vote count was incorrect and that another candidate was the real winner. All of the new “winners” were candidates supported by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. Similar election result “corrections” occurred in 43 municipalities in Nicaragua.
The six individuals visiting Hot Springs were here to tell their stories and to learn how to handle the situation in which they found themselves. They were here on a State Department funded tour of several cities in the United States. The group met with 11 different organizations including one in Washington D.C. attempting to gain information to help their nation solve its problems. What better place to come than a nation that has overcome such obstacles in its past?
Mr. Bob Driggers, of the Garland County Good Government Group (located in Hot Springs, Arkansas), welcomed our visitors and noted several local representatives in attendance. The names of the six Nicaraguan patriots that were present at the meeting held at the Transportation Depot are (see picture above):
Mr. Augusto Ayala elected Mayor of Juigalpa
Mr. German Zeledon elected Mayor of Jinotega
Dr. Rommel Moreno elected Mayor of Corinto
Mr. Francisco Valdivia elected Mayor of Masaya
Mr. Ariel Teran elected Mayor of Leon
Mr. Anibal Rosales of Granada, a political marketing specialist who helped Mr. Teran win his election.
After introductions, Mr. Driggers allowed Mayor Mike Bush to address our visitors. Mayor Bush welcomed our guests and informed them that Hot Springs has not suffered the financial strain that much of the nation is feeling. He added that the effects of the national economy are beginning to take a toll on the area. After his remarks, Mayor Bush had to leave.
Mr. Driggers then welcomed Dr. Gene Shelby, a Hot Springs resident and District 25 Representative to the Arkansas House of Representatives. Mr. Shelby also welcomed our guests and applauded them for the efforts they were making to help the people of Nicaragua. He mentioned the low voter turnout at recent school board elections, referring to the fact that many Americans take their freedoms for granted. He also thanked the Garland Good Government Group for its efforts to make Hot Springs a better place to live.
Ms. Peggy Maruthur was the next local representative to address our new friends. Ms. Maruthur thanked Peggy and Duane Vandenberg for hosting the group. She then explained her responsibilities as a Hot Springs City Director and noted that she had been elected by the people to represent them as a whole and not only those who had more influence than others.
Before Mr. Driggers presented a short Power Point on the recent efforts of the Garland Good Government Group, he recognized the presence of Director Elaine Jones (BOD Dist. 2) Quorum Court member Bud West (J.P. Dist. 9), and Garland County Treasurer Jo West Taylor.
Following the Good Government presentation, Mr. Ariel Teran began an explanation of recent events in Nicaragua. Mr. Teran, a graduate of an American University, and spokesman for the group, presented a short video entitled, “A Democracy Becoming a Dictatorship.” The video showed attempts at peaceful demonstrations and disruptions by youths being paid $10 a day by President Ortega. One scene showed a journalist being stabbed by a man with a machete. The video also showed a statement made by the Nicaraguan Attorney General and pictures of vandalized radio stations. Included were clips taken just two weeks before this visit of protesting students being accosted by paramilitary forces.
The Good Government Power Point had been presented with Spanish Text. The video shown by Mr. Teran had English text. One of the lines read, “To be silent and not act now…would be a great irresponsibility.”
Mr. Teran described how he had been personally affected by the recent events. “This is not a left or right issue. It’s a matter of Nationality,” Mr. Teran explained. He also explained that 2010 elections would be held by the congressmen of Nicaragua to choose the Electoral College. Mr. Teran expressed the fears of many that President Ortega might attempt to bribe the congressmen into his camp. Later in the meeting it was mentioned that money was being sent to Ortega by Hugo Chavez of Venezuela.
Mr. Teran explained that the problems began in 2006 when the opposition split into two groups. This allowed Ortega to win the Presidential seat with 38% of the vote. Ortega had been defeated by Violeta Barrios de Chamorro in the 1990 presidential election, but he remained an important figure in Nicaraguan opposition politics. Ortega was an unsuccessful candidate for president in 1996 and 2001 before winning the 2006 presidential election.
Mr. Teran said, “Ortega has 34% of the people, but he doesn’t have the congressmen. With the help of God we can make a difference.”
Once the question and answer period began, the first question came from Mr. Driggers who asked about current American assistance to the opposition (of Ortega). Mr. Teran stated that the U.S. government is currently not pushing to help the opposition. “We are not seeking financial assistance,” he said. “We just want the U.S. to sit down with us and listen to what has to be done.”
The other patriots got up and spoke. An interpreter translated for the audience. “Everything is contaminated,” stated Mr. Ayala. “We want to go back to our country and be watchdogs like you,” he said.
Mr. Rosales showed proof of the corruption. Dr. Moreno shared his experience of being elected as mayor and then having his position taken from him. They expressed how they had worked hard and won elections against Ortega’s representatives who were well funded. Mr. Zeledon and Mr. Valdivia also described their experiences and thanked the residents of Hot Springs, as the others had done for the warm welcome they had received.
Mr. Teran showed pictures of ballots that had been found at the dump in Leon, where he had been declared the mayor. The ballots were clearly marked as votes for Mr. Teran. “We took the ballots to the police and we made the national news,” Mr. Teran said. The case was never pursued.
Mr. Driggers made a few concluding remarks and thanked Ms. Barbara Anable for set up and refreshments. At this point, the entire Nicaraguan delegation gave Ms. Anable a standing ovation.
There was a good deal of discussion after the meeting was adjourned. In an interview with Mr. Teran, he stated that his father had been the founder of the baseball team in Leon. Leon has been a city that has had a lot of media attention during the recent political upheaval.
Earlier in this same month, I was fortunate enough to attend and report on an event that included the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, one of our U.S. Senators, one of our Reps. to the U.S. House of Representatives, and two other high ranking officials. I thought this would be the biggest thing I would be attending this year. With all due respect to the public servants I listened to that day, I have to say that this event with the Nicaraguan Patriots inspired me more than any event that I have yet covered.
An audience member enlightened me about the risk that these men were taking by coming to our country. We were all well aware of the risks they had already taken in their own country. Apparent was the courtesy, kindness, integrity, and humility of our visitors from Nicaragua. They were taking a stand for the principles of freedom, just like the difficult stand that our Revolutionary War patriots took. It was a moving experience.
Chris Reimers
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I believe I was the only journalist present for the event with the Nicaraguans. At the time I was writing a news blog with the same name as this blog and this article appeared there and can still be seen here on the ggggnews page. Scroll down if you wish to see the original article. I’ve made a few changes above for easier reading.
The Nicaraguan patriots went back to their county with the hopes of attempting to help create a more transparent and honest government. I kept track as well as I could but contact information they had left became no longer available. Of course, I had heard that Ortega and his followers were creating a mess.
Then, on August 15, 2018, This message appeared on my “about” page and is still there near the bottom:
“Hi Chris, do you remember me? I am Aníbal Rosales, from your article ‘Nicaraguan Patriots Visit Hot Springs’ in October 2009. It is very sad what Nicaragua is living now, what in 2009 seemed like a distant future has arrived. Ortega took all the powers of the state, the presidency, the supreme court of justice, the electoral power and the assembly, he completed his project of dictatorship. Now he is killing his own people, for having raised us to protest against him, since last April 18, more than 350 people have died, there are more than 500 unjustly arrested, many disappeared and many people fleeing in Costa Rica and others living hidden in safe houses, so that the government does not kill them. We have a real humanitarian crisis, there are thousands of people who need shelter, food and medicine. If you can, tell this story to our friends in Hot Springs.”
I responded to Mr. Rosales as best as I could and was surprised that he remembered me and that he had found my blog which now had a new format and a different web address. I was no longer writing as a journalist.
Since then I have checked on Nicaragua from time from time. Essentially, Ortega now has a stranglehold on his position. “In the 2021 Nicaraguan presidential election, President Daniel Ortega effectively became the only viable candidate on the ballot after his government systematically suppressed political pluralism. He eliminated his opposition by jailing seven major presidential challengers and disqualifying all other serious competition, cementing his hold on power in an election that was widely condemned by the international community.”
We Americans should be thankful for our continued freedoms when we read about a country like Nicaragua. Yes, it is in the Western Hemisphere and somehow seems to avoid the attention it should get for its human rights violations. Still, much has been written and discussed about this problem, even though it almost never hits the mainstream news.
Here are other resources if you are interested in knowing more:
Nicaragua’s Unrelenting Campaign to Eliminate Religious Freedom May 2026
New report finds increased restrictions on religious leaders March 2026
Nicaragua Travel Advisory
I pray for the people of Nicaragua and the patriots I met from there back in 2009. Life has gotten much harder for most of the citizens there since that time. May God be with them.
Chris Reimers
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