Headed in the right direction.
SAN JOSE (Reuters) – Several hundred Nicaraguan dissidents set off in a caravan on Sunday from Costa Rica’s capital en route to the Nicaraguan border to protest against their president, Daniel Ortega, and encourage his domestic opponents.
More than 300 people have been killed as the Ortega administration has responded, often brutally, to months of anti-government protests and attempted to silence his critics in the Central American nation.
The caravan of buses and a handful of cars left San Jose at around 6 a.m. local time (1200 GMT). The protesters aim to reach the border town of La Cruz in Guanacaste province, almost 270 kilometers (168 miles) north, by the afternoon.
“We’re going to tell the people they’re not alone and tell the government we’re still alive and fighting to return to a different Nicaragua,” said one of the protest organizers, Francisca Ramirez, a leader of Nicaraguan farm workers.
Ramirez said she fled Nicaragua in October after being threatened by pro-government forces.
The so-called “Caravan for Freedom and Justice” is due to end with a walk of some 4 kilometers from La Cruz. But it aims to stop short of the Penas Blancas border post to avoid problems. Police were waiting on the Nicaraguan side by mid-morning.
Demonstrations in Nicaragua that began in April against planned welfare cuts – later dropped by the government – quickly morphed into a broader protest against the leftist Ortega.