Police in Nicaragua have raided five town halls governed by the opposition Citizens for Freedom party in the latest crackdown on opponents of President Daniel Ortega. Citizens for Freedom was stripped of its legal status in the run-up to presidential elections last year but its mayors had continued to govern. The democratically elected mayors have now been replaced with allies of President Daniel Ortega’s party. One official called it a “local coup”. Locals described how armed police officers surrounded the town halls of four municipalities on Monday and ordered their mayors to stand down. A fifth Citizens for Freedom mayor had already been deposed on Saturday. The red-and-black flag of President Ortega’s Sandinista party has been raised outside the offices.(BBC)…[+]