Miss Universe winner Sheynnis Palacios has allegedly been exiled by her country’s authoritarian leader.
The 23-year-old was crowned six months ago.
She became the first Nicaraguan and Central American representative to win the international pageant.
However, she has never returned to home country since her triumph.
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The government, led by Daniel Ortega and wife Rosario Murillo, have allegedly stripped her of her nationality.
The Ortega-Murillo regime even launched its own beauty pageant in April after exiling Nicaragua’s Miss Universe director Karen Celebertti for alleged conspiracy and treason.
The police also arrested Celebertti’s husband and one of her children before throwing them out of the country.
Palacios and Celebertti are accused of taking part in the anti-government protests in 2018 and becoming a risk to those in power following their triumph.
Palacios and her family have also been stripped of their nationality, according to the owner of the Miss Universe franchise, Anne Jakrajutatip.
She said Palacios has been forced into “indefinite exile.”
Jakrajutatip added: “She worked to take care of her mother and family, who are now out of the country.
Palacios is the only Miss Universe winner to not return to her home nation following coronation.
Instead, she settled in New York with her family and has continued to travel the world in her role as Miss Universe.
Haydée Castillo, head of the organisation Nicaraguans in the World, said: “I deeply regret the regime’s decision because exile and forced displacement constitute a crime against humanity.”
Castillo added that Palacios is able to seek political asylum in the US where she currently resides, as reported by Need to Know.
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