The White House announced Thursday the United States secured the release of 135 political prisoners from Nicaragua, who were then flown to Guatemala.
In a statement, U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan said that the prisoners had been "unjustly detained" in Nicaragua, and that "no one should be put in jail for peacefully exercising their fundamental rights of free expression, association and practicing their religion."
Sullivan said the prisoners were released on humanitarian grounds and include 13 members of the Texas-based evangelical Mountain Gateway organization, along with Catholic laypeople, students and others.
"This is a day we have prayed and believed God for. … Today, we cry tears of joy because our brothers and sisters are free," Jon Britton Hancock, founder of Mountain Gateway said in a statement on the organization's website.
Sullivan said the prisoners were jailed because they were seen by Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo as "a threat to their authoritarian rule."
On the ground in Guatemala, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Eric Jacobstein said, after talking with the newly released prisoners, that he was struck by the "true pettiness and cruelty" of Ortega's government for imprisoning people for no justifiable reason.
Mountain Gateway said 11 of its members had been arrested in December and charged with money laundering. It said in a statement that all its Nicaraguan assets had been seized, and its registration to operate in the country had been revoked.
The New York Times reported the organization had attracted thousands of followers and received millions of dollars in donations. The report said the Nicaraguan government accused Mountain Gateway of using its nonprofit status as a cover to purchase property and luxury.
The Times report said the group was among about 1,600 similar organizations shut down by the Nicaraguan government in the past year.
Sullivan said the government of Guatemala has "graciously" agreed to accept the prisoners — all of whom are Nicaraguan citizens — upon their release. Once in the country, he said they will be offered the opportunity to apply for lawful ways to rebuild their lives in the United States.
The statement said U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were grateful to Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo for "his continued leadership across the region in addressing humanitarian issues and championing democratic freedom."
Some information for this report was provided by The Associated Press and Reuters.
