Karen Celebertti, Miss Nicaragua's pageant director, announced her retirement from the organization on Monday after being accused of conspiracy, along with her husband and son, who were detained by the Nicaraguan police.
Celebertti worked for 23 years with eagerness and effort until Nicaragua won the world beauty crown this year.
Miss Nicaragua Pageant Director Announces Retirement
Celebertti released her first public statement after the accusations that followed the coronation of Sheynnis Palacios as Miss Universe on November 18 in El Salvador.
"I know that there will always be more opportunities for us," Celebertti wrote on X, formerly Twitter. She added that the time had come for her retirement.
She described Palacios' victory as an achievement for everyone and every Nicaraguan, without political distinction. Nicaragua's coronation gathered demonstrations of joy in the streets of Nicaragua, which was criticized by Daniel Ortega's government.
According to Toronto City News, the immigration authorities blocked Celebertti and her daughter Luciana from entering the country on November 22 after they attended Miss Universe's coronation and accompanied Palacios on her quick tour to Mexico.
The police raided Celebertti's home after the coronation in the southwest of Managua and arrested her husband, Martín Argüello, and their son, Bernardo. On December 2, the authorities accused some Argüello Celebertti family members of crimes of treason, conspiracy, and organized crime without confirming the arrest.
According to the National Police, Celebertti engaged on the internet actively and in the terrorist actions of a failed coup in 2018 protests in the streets. She was accused of trying to organize anti-government protests.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reported that the government banned protests after a violent crackdown of widespread anti-government demonstrations in 2018 that resulted in more than 320 deaths.
Miss Nicaragua in Miss Universe Pageant
Sheynnis Palacios was crowned as the 2023 Miss Universe in El Salvador. Palacios' victory was the first win of a Nicaraguan woman in Miss Universe. Palacios represented Nicaragua in the 2017 Teen Miss Universe pageant, placing in the top 10, and the 2021 Miss World pageant.
This year's pageant was judged by a panel including model Halima Aden, 'Queer Eye' star Carson Kressley, TikTok influencer Avani Gregg and two former Miss Universe winners, Janelle Commissiong of Trinidad & Tobago (Miss Universe 1977) and Iris Mittenaere of France (Miss Universe 2016).
Anntonia Porsild of Thailand placed as the first runner-up, and Moraya Wilson of Australia was the second runner-up. Together with Palacios, they were left with two rounds of hot-topic Q&As.
In the final round, she was asked who she would choose to spend a day in the life of, and Palacios chose the 18th-century British philosopher and feminist Mary Wollstonecraft. She mentioned that the two broke boundaries and gave many opportunities to women.
"There are no limitations for women today," she added.
Miss Colombia, Camila Avella, and Miss Puerto Rico, Karla Guilfú, were in the top five, while another member of the top 10, Spain's Athenea Pérez, was crowned the pageant's Miss Congeniality.
