MANAGUA, Feb 13 — Retired Nicaraguan general Hugo Torres, a former revolutionary comrade of President Daniel Ortega later considered a political prisoner by the opposition, died yesterday in a Managua prison aged 73, his political party and local media said.

Torres, feted as a hero of the Sandinista Revolution that overthrew the Somoza family dictatorship in 1979, took part in a daring operation in 1974 to free Ortega, who had been imprisoned for seven years for his involvement in the guerrilla movement.

Torres’ Democratic Renovation Union, a group that grew from dissidence within the Sandinista movement, posted a notification of his death on a Facebook page. A party source said Torres’ family would make an announcement on his passing later.

The government did not reply to a request for comment.

Torres was the first head of state security after the 1979 revolution but eventually broke with the Sandinistas. He retired from the army in the 1990s having reached the rank of general.

Authorities arrested Torres, former Sandinista guerrilla Dora Maria Tellez and other leaders of his party last June on the grounds of undermining national security. — Reuters