Nicaragua pageant head, family face ‘treason’ raps
Karen Celebertti’s husband and son are reportedly taken into police custody.
Daily TribuneKaren Celebertti’s husband and son are reportedly taken into police custody.
The director of Nicaragua's national beauty pageant and two family members were accused of "treason" on Friday, two weeks after a Nicaraguan woman seen as a symbol of opposition to the government was crowned Miss Universe 2023.
A police statement said Karen Celebertti, her husband and her son — all owners of the Miss Nicaragua pageant — had actively participated "in the terrorist actions of the failed coup attempt," a reference to the 2018 mass protests against President Daniel Ortega.
The government's clampdown on the protests left more than 350 dead and more than 100,000 in exile.
The government also has since jailed hundreds of critics, claiming they were part of an attempted coup against Ortega.
Friday's police statement said Celebertti, her son and husband "remained in communication with exponents of treason to the homeland, preparing to use their franchises, platforms… in a conspiracy to turn the contests into traps and political ambushes, financed by foreign agents."