As part of International Week of the Disappeared, the Nicas Libres Ya campaign draws attention to the persistence of enforced disappearances, incommunicado detention, and the concealment of the whereabouts of individuals arbitrarily deprived of their liberty for political reasons in Nicaragua.
Washington, D.C., May 27, 2026.– In the last week of May, organizations and families of victims in Latin America commemorate International Week of the Disappeared, an initiative promoted for decades to shed light on one of the most serious human rights violations: enforced disappearance.
In Nicaragua, this practice continues to be used as a mechanism of repression and control against individuals perceived as opponents or critics of the Ortega-Murillo regime.
Since April 2018, human rights organizations have documented arbitrary detentions, prolonged incommunicado detention, concealment of whereabouts, and systematic refusals to provide families with information about the conditions of those detained. Various international bodies have warned that these practices may constitute enforced disappearance and, in some cases, crimes against humanity.
Currently, deep concern persists regarding the situation of individuals arbitrarily deprived of their liberty for political reasons, whose status and conditions remain unknown. Among the most alarming cases is that of Brooklyn Rivera, a Miskito indigenous leader, who as of May 26, 2026, has spent 970 days in detention and enforced disappearance, with no recent public proof of life.
According to the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners in Nicaragua, as of March 31, 2026, there were 11 political prisoners in a state of enforced disappearance, including retired military personnel, indigenous leaders, and opposition figures detained in various repressive operations. Among the cases highlighted are those of Eddie González Valdivia, Víctor Boitano, retired Colonel Carlos Brenes and his wife Salvadora Martínez, and Steadman Fagot, among others.
Enforced disappearance does not cause serious harm only to those who are detained. It also punishes families and communities, subjecting them to constant uncertainty, anguish, and fear. Silence and the lack of information are part of the harm.
The Nicas Libres Ya campaign reminds the public that the State of Nicaragua has an international obligation to report on the whereabouts and conditions of detained individuals, guarantee their physical and psychological integrity.
During this International Week of the Disappeared, we reiterate that:
- Enforced disappearance is an affront to human dignity and a grave and flagrant violation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reaffirmed and elaborated upon in other international instruments.
- No person should be held incommunicado or outside the protection of the law.
- Families have the right to know the whereabouts and conditions of their loved ones; they have the right to know the truth.
- Persons arbitrarily deprived of their liberty for political reasons must be released immediately.
- Those responsible will be held accountable before the law.