Wings of the Wind

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.

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 9^th, 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