- Title: Exiled Nicaraguans protest after political activist was shot in Costa Rica
- Date: 13th September 2021
- Summary: SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA (SEPTEMBER 12, 2021) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF HOSPITAL WHERE MALDONADO IS HOSPITALISED JOAO MALDONADO'S WIFE, NADIA ROBLETO, WALKING IN HOSPITAL CORRIDOR (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) WIFE OF WOUNDED NICARAGUAN ACTIVIST JOAO MALDONADO, NADIA ROBLETO, SAYING: "He is in a critical state. He's in intensive care and we can only wait for him to get better." (REPORTER OFF-CAMERA: "What did the doctors say?") "Well, he received four bullet impacts and they affected some organs, but thank God he didn't die. He arrived here (at the hospital) in very grave condition, in an emergency condition. Now we need to wait for him to survive."
- Embargoed: 27th September 2021 02:58
- Keywords: Costa Rica Daniel Ortega Joao Maldonado San Jose exile
- Location: SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA
- City: SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA
- Country: Costa Rica
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,South America / Central America,Civil Unrest
- Reuters ID: LVA004EUJY79J
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Nicaraguan exiles in San Jose protested against the government of President Daniel Ortega on Sunday (September 12), a day after a Nicaraguan political activist was shot in Costa Rica.
Joao Maldonado, who opposes the government of President Daniel Ortega, is in critical condition in a hospital after being shot, police and activists said.
Maldonado is well-known as a leader of demonstrations in southwestern Nicaragua's Jinotepe municipality in 2018.
He was shot twice in the chest and once in the arm on Saturday evening in Escazu, 10 km (6 miles) west of Costa Rica's capital San Jose, a police spokeswoman said.
Nicaraguan activists said Maldonado also received a fourth gunshot to the abdomen.
Yefer Bravo of the Unidad de Exiles Nicaraguan (Unit of Nicaraguan Exiles) in Costa Rica said 32-year-old Maldonado had been organising a protest against Ortega's government for Sunday in San Jose.
The demonstration went ahead, but turnout was low.
A Nicaraguan government official did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Maldonado underwent emergency surgery, his wife Nadia Robleto said.
More than 80,000 Nicaraguans have requested refuge in neighbouring Costa Rica since the 2018 protests.
Numbers had increased in the past three months as Ortega's government clamped down on opposition politicians and activists.
(Production: Hector Guzman, Rodolfo Pena Roja, Nina Lopez) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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