Miss Nicaragua Pageant Director Allegedly Involved in Government Overthrow Plot

The director of the Miss Nicaragua pageant, Karen Celebertti, is wanted for arrest by Nicaraguan police, who accuse her of rigging contests to ensure that anti-government beauty queens would win as part of a plot to overthrow the government. The charges stem from the recent win of Miss Nicaragua, Sheynnis Palacios, in the Miss Universe competition, where it was revealed that she had participated in anti-government protests in 2018. The government, which initially celebrated her win, condemned her after the revelation. Celebertti, her husband, and son face charges of "treason to the motherland," and the government claims that she conspired with foreign agents to use beauty pageants as political traps. The government has been cracking down on opposition and dissent, closing universities and civic groups, arresting and expelling opponents, and confiscating their assets.