The Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy of Nicaragua called for a national strike this Thursday, June 14, to demand the end of repression and violence which has caused the death of at least 150 civilians.

“This is a civic and peaceful strike that covers the entire country and all the economic activities”, explained the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy of Nicaragua which gathers business owners, students and different sectors of the civil society.

The strike will extend for 24 hours.

The Costa Rican Embassy in Nicaragua informed that due to the strike their Consulates will remain closed on Thursday, resuming normal operations Friday. Despite this, the Consulate will have the following permanent line available for emergencies: (505) 8924-0409.

Protesters demand that President Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo, who have been in the Presidency since 2007, step down, and, they request to call on elections and adopt democratic reforms.

On the other hand, Ortega accuses protesters of blocking roads and affecting the free transit of people and merchandise including cargo trucks and trailers from other Central American countries. Civilians have stated that road blocks are part of the measures to call on the government to stop the repression.

Commerce and Industry Chambers in Costa Rica and other Central American countries have expressed their concern and asked for the urgent intervention of international organizations as hundreds of truckers have been stuck for over one week now in Nicaragua, due to this, enterprises have also been forced to find other forms of transportation for imports and exports, situation that has increased their logistics costs in as much as 70%.

Nicaragua continues to be affected socially and financially by this crisis, data by the non-governmental organization Consultants for Corporate Development, estimates the loses for the past two months in close to 800 million dollars.

The Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua has confirmed that national dialogue will resume on Friday.