jasonpuracal.jpg
University of Washington graduate and Tacoma-native Jason Puracal has been released from prison in Nicaragua, but is prohibited from leaving the country, according to his legal team. (Brandi Kruse/KIRO Radio)

Jason Puracal is out of Nicaragua

BY Brandi Kruse  on September 13, 2012 @ 9:34 pm (Updated: 4:05 pm - 9/14/12 )

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University of Washington graduate and Tacoma-native Jason Puracal has been released from prison and is out of Nicaragua, according to a family spokesperson.

It's not clear whether he's in the U.S. yet. His family says he's in a safe, undisclosed location.

On Wednesday, a three-judge appellate panel in Granada, Nicaragua vacated his conviction and 22-year prison sentence on charges that he laundered drug money.

The Nicaraguan prison received Puracal's release order Thursday morning and acted on it late in the afternoon. Eric Volz, managing director of the David House Agency, said in a statement that Puracal was on orders not to leave Nicaragua Thursday. But he is now out of the country.

A source close to the case told KIRO FM they were concerned about reports from Reuters that the Nicaraguan government might have rearrested Puracal and appeal the appellate court's decision.

"Before Puracal was released, Nicaraguan Attorney General Julio Centeno told a local television station that his office was considering whether to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court, the nation's highest judicial body," Reuters reported.

Puracal, 35, was arrested in the resort village of San Juan del Sur on November 11, 2010. Along with 10 Nicaraguans, he was accused of operating a drug trafficking ring that brought cocaine up from Costa Rica.

On Aug. 29, 2011, Puracal was convicted of drug trafficking, money laundering and organized crime.

Brandi Kruse, KIRO Radio Reporter
Brandi Kruse is a reporter for KIRO Radio who is as spontaneous and adventurous in her free time as she is on the job. Brandi arrived at KIRO Radio in March 2011 and has already collected three regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her reporting.
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Comments (13)


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  • ron prevost wrote...
    For all as long as I can remember with Nicaragua
    September 14, 2012 5:33 am
    You're never safe until you're out.

    Can we AT LEAST get him to the embassy?

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • GloScot wrote...
    Same play, different dude
    September 14, 2012 7:42 am
    Agreed, Ron. Get him somewhere safe. These clowns tried to do the same thing to Eric Volz. He got in time.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • MrMoPar426 wrote...
    The Nicaraguan gov't
    September 14, 2012 8:47 am
    Won't let him go to a US embassy because that is considered US soil. They can't touch him there. Might be time for Seal Team 6
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Pugwamp wrote...
    US Embassy?
    September 14, 2012 9:48 am
    That's not such a safe place these days.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • juel wrote...
    No aid to them!
    September 14, 2012 11:41 am
    Tell them no foreign aid until he is home! These countries need to do right or suffer.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • awbitf wrote...
    When he gets back
    September 14, 2012 12:49 pm
    he should totally hook up with Amanda.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • GardenGal wrote...
    Please stay in the US this time!!!
    September 14, 2012 1:05 pm
    You would be a fool to go back. Now I wonder if the wife and child have also come to the US and is she ever going back to visit her reletives.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • fartforce1 wrote...
    how do we know that he is NOT a drug smuggler?
    September 15, 2012 5:10 am
    Just saying.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    Fartface - how do we know YOU are not an idiot,,,
    September 15, 2012 5:21 am
    just saying.............. no, wait........
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • fartforce1 wrote...
    You dont , and thats the point.
    September 15, 2012 6:22 am
    What about the other 10 convicted people? Just the American is innocent? ron prevost, You must have no argument except argumentation.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    fartforce, Jason Puracal is all the press on anybody else delt with
    September 15, 2012 7:21 pm
    Granted, he didn't inspire much beyond our local reporters and Adam Smith - probably because he was local. ... But the injustice of the case was quire apparent. The 'judge' was not a real judge (and may not have even been a lawyer) and even Nicaraguan law was not followed for the trial.

    Of the others involved? Unless Adam Smith can inform us, your guess is as good as mine. They weren't the people in question. ...... My take on this for the past year or so was that Puracal SHOULD have been offered some backing from OUR government. .... But, of course, he was 3 things Amanda Knox was not, and uor government wasn't much help to her either.

    But, no. I don't know he was NOT a drug dealer. Maybe? Likely not? ... But just how do you PROVE a negative?

    And THAT'S the point.

    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • BikeNazi wrote...
    Brandi Candi still won't get a Murrow Award for this
    September 15, 2012 10:31 pm
    Not worth anything. Lame story.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • anotherfencewalker wrote...
    Nothing to see here..
    September 16, 2012 7:25 am
    Does anyone want to even guess how many Americans are locked up in foreign jails from trumped up criminal charges? Jason P. had an advantage and took the sqweeky wheel gets the grease route to get his freedom. Lots of "friends" on the outside..just like Amanda.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }