One of Nicaragua’s most influential political watchdog reporters said on Sunday he has gone into exile in Costa Rica after receiving threats from the government, which has led a heavy-handed crackdown on protests against President Daniel Ortega.

Carlos Fernando Chamorro had accused the government of using increasingly authoritarian tactics to purge Nicaragua of dissent. The famed reporter announced on his television program he had fled to Costa Rica, without detailing the threats that prompted him to leave Nicaragua. He said he planned to keep reporting from the city of San Jose, where the government has welcomed him and his wife.

He told Reuters in an interview in late December he had been targeted with death threats on social media and feared the government could trump up charges as an excuse to throw him in jail. Chamorro said police had raided his offices earlier in December and taken his equipment, forcing him to work almost in hiding.(Reuters)…[+]