By: Daniel Nardini
Surprisingly it is hardly mentioned in the U.S. news media at all. An American named Jason Puracal now sits in a Nicaraguan prison. His crime? He was accused by the Nicaraguan government of selling property and collaborating with drug smugglers. However, the court produced no evidence, eyewitness testimony could not place him at the scene with any of the defendants accused of drug smuggling, and even the defendants could not identify Puracal. Despite the sharp contradictions within the case of the prosecution against Puracal, he was convicted and is now serving a 22 year sentence. The case smells, and based on all the evidence and eyewitness testimonies, Puracal should have walked free. Of course, being in Nicaragua, the judiciary is controlled for the most part by the Sandinistas, and fairness is highly questionable.
Before I say anything more, I should provide some background on Jason Puracal. He had originally gone to Nicaragua as a member of the Peace Corps. During his stint there he had fallen in love with the country and people. After the Peace Corps he stayed, married a Nicaraguan woman, had a son, and started a business in real estate for foreign investment. Things went well for him until 2010 when he was seized from his real estate office by armed masked men. They were the Nicaraguan police, and they seized all materials in his office and roughed him up, handcuffed him, and led him away to prison without a search warrant. He was held in a Nicaraguan prison for nine months, beaten, barely fed and denied access to a lawyer or even his wife and son. When he was put on trial he stood no chance. Now he is serving time in prison for something that by all legal indications he could not have done. Thirty members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, stating very clearly they are troubled by the whole case. Even the United Nations has questioned how the whole case was handled. All U.S. government officials and even members states of the Organization of American States are calling for Puracal’s release.
We have to remember however that this is Nicaragua. Now again under the control of the Communist Sandinistas, there is no question that Puracal is a hostage to the machinations of this leftist, anti-American government. Right now in alliance with the leftist governments of Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and China, relations between Nicaragua and the United States are pretty poor. There are many American expats who have moved to Nicaragua because of the real estate. Now I bet they are quite worried what could happen to them. They have every reason to worry—any of them could be a target of a government that is ready to seize their assets and throw them in prison as well. We also have to keep in mind about what happens to innocent Nicaraguans who run afoul of their own government. You can be sure there are now many political prisoners in Nicaragua—victims of the Sandinistas. For Jason Puracal and his family, I hope they will not only get Puracal out of prison but they they will all get out of Nicaragua altogether. As for America, this country has enemies on its back door step, and the Nicaraguan government is one of them.
The Case of Jason Puracal
By: Daniel Nardini
Before I say anything more, I should provide some background on Jason Puracal. He had originally gone to Nicaragua as a member of the Peace Corps. During his stint there he had fallen in love with the country and people. After the Peace Corps he stayed, married a Nicaraguan woman, had a son, and started a business in real estate for foreign investment. Things went well for him until 2010 when he was seized from his real estate office by armed masked men. They were the Nicaraguan police, and they seized all materials in his office and roughed him up, handcuffed him, and led him away to prison without a search warrant. He was held in a Nicaraguan prison for nine months, beaten, barely fed and denied access to a lawyer or even his wife and son. When he was put on trial he stood no chance. Now he is serving time in prison for something that by all legal indications he could not have done. Thirty members of the U.S. Congress sent a letter to Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, stating very clearly they are troubled by the whole case. Even the United Nations has questioned how the whole case was handled. All U.S. government officials and even members states of the Organization of American States are calling for Puracal’s release.
We have to remember however that this is Nicaragua. Now again under the control of the Communist Sandinistas, there is no question that Puracal is a hostage to the machinations of this leftist, anti-American government. Right now in alliance with the leftist governments of Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and China, relations between Nicaragua and the United States are pretty poor. There are many American expats who have moved to Nicaragua because of the real estate. Now I bet they are quite worried what could happen to them. They have every reason to worry—any of them could be a target of a government that is ready to seize their assets and throw them in prison as well. We also have to keep in mind about what happens to innocent Nicaraguans who run afoul of their own government. You can be sure there are now many political prisoners in Nicaragua—victims of the Sandinistas. For Jason Puracal and his family, I hope they will not only get Puracal out of prison but they they will all get out of Nicaragua altogether. As for America, this country has enemies on its back door step, and the Nicaraguan government is one of them.