releases 1,200 prisoners on National Reconciliation Day

In this way, it has become the first mass release of 2026in which 1,153 men and 47 women have been released.

In an official event, the Nicaraguan Minister of the Interior, María Amelia Coronel Kinloch, said that they granted this benefit to common prisoners. in honor of the late Nicaraguan cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo (1926-2018).

February 2 was declared National Day of Reconciliation and Peace, “celebrating life and legacy” of the deceased Catholic hierarch, according to a decree approved on January 18 by the National Assembly (Parliament).

“We take advantage of honor your legacy of faith and his call to peace, and to families that his example inspires everyone to seek true reconciliation, justice with mercy and the protection of family ties, as a path to social restoration,” said the minister.

The Nicaraguan authorities have released of prison and placed under the regime of family coexistence to a total of 53,164 common prisoners in the last ten yearsof which 7.18% have reoffended in the commission of at least one crime, according to Government data.

Mass releases

The release of common convicts before completing their sentences has been criticizedmainly by feminist organizations, under the argument that after these benefits, femicides and general crime have increased in Nicaragua.

The Nicaraguan Government usually grants parole to common prisoners on the occasion of Holy Week, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, on the anniversary of the Sandinista revolution and during the Christmas holidays.

In 2025 The authorities benefited 9,900 of these convicts, the highest number in the last decade.

In that year, 2,000 common prisoners were released on Valentine’s Day or Love and Friendship Day; 1,700 on May 4 for the Day of National Dignity, one thousand in commemoration of the 130th anniversary of the birth of the Nicaraguan hero Augusto C. Sandino, 1,500 on July 31 prior to the popular festivals in Managua for Santo Domingo de Guzmán; and 1,200 on September 12 in the context of the National Holidays.

In 2024 There were 9,200 prisoners. On this occasion, the condonations included April, the month in which the demonstrations that broke out against President Daniel Ortega in 2018, the National Holidays, All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day and the day of the Immaculate Conception of Mary are commemorated.

In 2023 He also did it on International Women’s Day, but not on Father’s Day or on the occasion of the Sandinista anniversary.