Nicaragua bans Miss Nicaragua director from entering country
MANILA, Philippines — As if the controversies surrounding the recently concluded Miss Universe in El Salvador are not enough, another one is added to the pile.
According to the national paper, La Prensa, Karen Celebertti, the national director of Miss Universe Nicaragua, had to fly back to Mexico (where they visited as next year's host country of Miss Universe 2024), after government officials denied her re-entry into the country.
The government in Nicaragua is not in support of beauty pageants.
The paper said on its web site that the government "blocked Karen Celebertti, owner of the Miss Nicaragua franchise, and her daughter from entering the country." It was not made clear why Celebertti and her daughter were denied entry into Nicaragua.
According to an AFP report, the writer Gioconda Belli, who lives in Spain after being stripped of her Nicaraguan nationality by the government, contended that Celebertti was blocked at the orders of President Daniel Ortega's wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, despite her success in helping a Nicaraguan win the prestigious contest.
Opposition media also reported that Celebertti's Managua home had been searched Friday and her husband, Martin Arguello, briefly detained.
In a statement to AFP, the Miss Universe Organization called on the Nicaraguan government to "guarantee" the safety of those associated with the local affiliates of the pageant.
"We are working to guarantee the safety of all members of the organization, and we call on the government of Nicaragua to guarantee their safety," the statement read.
Since Palacios was crowned Miss Universe on November 18 in San Salvador, she has been widely portrayed as a symbol of opposition to Ortega.
Photos showing her waving the Nicaraguan flag at anti-government protests in 2018 have gone viral, and her victory brought joyful crowds into Nicaragua's streets in the biggest public displays since such gatherings were banned five years ago.
Sheynnis is expected to live in New York in the United States as part of her duties as the reigning Miss Universe. This means the homecoming that her "paisanos" have been planning will be put on hold in the meantime as the government has already rained on her parade. — With reports from AFP
