Nicaragua's Miss Universe franchise owner indicted for conspiracy after pageant win

The owner of the local Miss Universe franchise in Nicaragua was charged by the police on Friday with conspiracy, money laundering, and spreading fake news. This comes just weeks after the country's first victory in the pageant. Karen Celebertti, director of the Miss Nicaragua franchise, along with her husband and son, have been accused of conspiring against the government, as stated by the national police.

The local Miss Universe organization in Celeberttis has been accused of turning pageants into political traps and ambushes, funded by foreign agents, according to the police statement. Reuters was unable to reach Celebertti or her representatives for comment at this time.

Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios was crowned Miss Universe 2023 last month.

Celebertti was barred from entering the country on October 21st, and her husband and son have been arrested in Nicaragua on charges of conspiracy stemming from 2018. Authorities allege that they were involved in coordinating anti-government demonstrations.

Nicaragua's Sheynnis Palacios made history on Nov. 18 by being crowned as the first-ever Miss Universe from Central America. Following her victory, Palacios chose to relocate to New York and has not yet returned to Nicaragua.

Nicaraguans took to the streets to celebrate Palacios' victory, but now police are accusing the organizers of attempting to orchestrate anti-government protests. Following a violent crackdown on widespread anti-government demonstrations in 2018 that resulted in over 320 deaths, the government had banned protests, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.