Because she is anticommunist

Auxiliadora Martinez, 23, a Nicaraguan political refugee, was beaten with sticks, shot at, nearly raped and almost murdered – all because she fought for free elections. Now, the U.S. is prepared to deny her asylum in the land of the free. Martinez, a campaign organizer for Eduardo Montealegre, former Constitutionalist Party candidate for Managua mayor, has been tortured by Nicaragua’s Sandinista regime and is pleading with the United States for asylum, but American immigration officials have shown her little sympathy.

Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega has employed neighborhood committees called Citizens Power Councils, or CPCs, used by his corrupt Sandinista party to spy on citizens, intimidate and torture them. Martinez told WND the CPCs attacked her with large rocks, sticks, mortars and sprays of gunfire. A gang of Sandinista CPCs tried to rape and kill her because she was part of a group protesting the legitimacy of the 2008 municipal elections.

Sandinistas murdered her uncles in the 1980s when they were only 12 years old after they refused to join their forces. “My mom said they hid her brothers under the bed so the Sandinistas wouldn’t take them away,” she said. “They came with their weapons and their guns and they began to rip the house apart to find the boys. The Sandinistas took them away by force and killed them.”

Over the years, the Martinez family became immersed in politics, determined to prevent Sandinistas from returning to power in Nicaragua. In 2006, Martinez raised funds for Eduardo Montealegre’s presidential campaign while she worked at Managua International Airport. “I would chat with people who would come through, and they would ask me how life is in my country,” she said. “They would help me with money, so I was able to get about $5,000.”

But Martinez’ family’s worst nightmares came true as Ortega, a Marxist guerrilla leader who previously ruled Managua with a Soviet-backed iron fist, took office in 2006 – less than two decades after U.S.-backed freedom fighters ousted him from power. Allied with Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, Ortega, of the Sandinista National Liberation Front, or FSLN, is determined to overhaul Nicaragua into a quasi-parliamentary system so he may be re-elected indefinitely.

As Nicaragua prepared for its key mayoral elections in 2008, Ortega attempted to disqualify opposition parties from the ballot. For a small country such as Nicaragua, the 146 municipal races are significant, because mayors have the ability to act as a check on the government’s power….

On the night of Nov. 4, the CPCs fired a homemade mortar into Martinez’ mother’s home. “My family hid under their beds,” she said. “It was because we were helping Montealegre. I was very afraid that these people were not going to just throw rocks because they are murderers.”

A neighbor told her mother that the CPCs had Martinez and her little sister’s name on a list. The neighbor said, “This is not a game. This is serious. You need to protect your daughters, and you need to stop being part of this party.” “She didn’t know if they were going to rape us or beat us,” Martinez said. “Other liberals know these guys aren’t kidding with their threats.” …

During Nicaragua’s elections, it was estimated that one-third of the voting stations experienced irregularities, according to the Wall Street Journal. Some polling locations closed early, and observers were evicted. Martinez said voters’ names were listed next to booth numbers where they were to cast their ballots. “There were a lot of people whose names were omitted from the lists,” Martinez revealed. “This is just part of what they do so people cannot vote, because the surveys said Eduardo Monteleagre was going to win. This was one of Ortega’s traps.” The president banned independent election observers from monitoring the polls for the first time since 1990. Many say Ortega and Hugo Chavez are determined to consolidate Marxist power in the region. Martinez said television news reports revealed that Chavez had provided pens to mark the ballots.

That night, Martinez said Monteleagre’s assistant, Guadalupe, called to tell her that 300 CPCs were coming to set their headquarters on fire because they believed the proof of election results from the canvassing board was inside. “There were many people with gunshot wounds,” she said. “The people inside the headquarters were about to jump a fence because the CPCs were inside. Guadalupe told me she believed they were going to burn her alive.” …

Martinez came to the United States in December to seek asylum. She is terrified that if she returns to Nicaragua, the Sandinistas will recognize and harm her. Her mother and sisters fled to Guatemala. Martinez was given a hearing with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. She waited three hours to tell her story. Martinez offered several original photographs, her testimony, media reports, film footage and her campaign ID, but she said officials failed to express interest in her evidence. “Honestly, it was the first time in my life that I was in the judgment seat,” she said. “For me, it was very hard.”

On March 17, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services sent her a notice of intent to deny her request for asylum. The letter, signed by George S. Mihalko, director of the Los Angeles asylum office, stated that her testimony “was found not credible,” because it was “vague and incoherent” concerning her activities with “Vamos con Eduardo.” The agency’s note included puzzling statements such as, “You were unable to provide any other reasons why Eduardo would want to harm you.”

But Martinez said she never suggested that Montealegre would hurt her. She said she is concerned that Ortega and the Sandinistas would attack her.

The letter continues, “Your vague testimony is material to your claim because it casts doubt on whether you ever participated in this demonstration or that you were ever a leader in Eduardo’s campaign organization as claimed.” Martinez said she was baffled at this comment, because she presented her campaign ID, numerous photos, campaign T-shirts and even offered film footage that shows her with Montealegre and Quinonez.

The note also said she failed to establish that she had almost been raped or killed by the CPCs on Nov. 18. “USCIS has found that you are not eligible for asylum status in the United States,” it said. The office has given her only 16 days to submit a rebuttal.

Martinez sent a letter March 21 with a Channel 2 video of the Nov. 18 protest. In the footage, she is shown standing with the Montealegre family. She presented two more videos – including one she recorded at the march where a CPC mob is shown surrounding them.

Montealegre and Quinonez have spoken with Martinez in recent weeks and have offered to help document her case. As the men are under enormous pressure, Martinez said she is deeply concerned that she will not be given a fair chance for asylum in the U.S.

Meanwhile, the United States Agency for International Development has given Nicaragua $1.4 billion for health, education, infrastructure, environmental protection, small businesses and democracy building, the Miami Herald reported. The U.S. has also forgiven $500 million in Nicaraguan debts; however, it recently froze $175 million in foreign aid following reports of the municipal election fraud.

Asked what would happen if she ever returned to Nicaragua, Martinez wiped away tears now streaming down her face. “If I go back to my country, first, I will be raped,” she said. “Secondly, they will throw me in jail and say I am bringing drugs – or they will kill me.”

Concerned individuals may contact George Mihalko, director of the Los Angeles Asylum Office at (714) 808-8000, fax (714)635-8707, attention: Duty Officer Charles Phillips and Director George Mihalko, or write to: 1585 South Manchester Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92802. Include case reference number A89898056

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