Political Prisoners in Nicaragua: forced disappearances continue
in La Prensa, June 16, 2026
The number of forcibly disappeared political prisoners could increase if the relatives of those six people close to Brooklyn Rivera, arrested on May 31, give their approval to be declared as such.
The fact that the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo exhibits political prisoners, like the most recent cases of Angélica Chavarría and Steadman Fagoth, “does not put an end” to the forced disappearance, human rights experts agree.
For the last 25 days, the dictatorship has exhibited three people who have been categorized as political prisoners under the condition of forced disappearance by the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners. The first was the spouse of Humberto Ortega, Angélica Chavarría, on May 22nd; then the indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera on the 27th of the same month, who died in custody three days later, and then on Sunday June 14th, the indigenous leader Steadman Fagoth.
Nevertheless, since Chavarría appeared in a video released in official media reading brief declarations on the supposed “decent treatment” which the dictatorship gave her in prison, nothing more has been known about her. Nor is anything known about the former presidential advisor Bayardo Arce, who also is on the list of prisoners of the Ortega Murillos which the Mechanism maintains. Arce was exhibited along with his brother Gerardo Arce just once on March 22nd.
Public appearance “does not put an end” to the forced disappearance
The Nicaraguan sociologist, Claudia Pineda, and expert in governance and human rights, who is the spokesperson for the Mechanism for the Recognition of the Political Prisoners, states that the “public exhibition of a person does not necessarily put an end to a forced disappearance.”
Pineda highlights that the uncertainty remains unless the political prisoner who is categorized as a forced disappearance “continues receiving visits.” In the specific case of Angélica Chavarría, she emphasizes that she “continues being a political prisoner, whose legal status is unknown.” She added that for the widow of Humberto Ortega “there is no legal cause which justifies her detention.”
It is a scenario in which the regime allowed visits to disappeared political prisoners after exhibiting them, but that would not erase the crimes which it has committed against them, according to the human rights expert Uriel Pineda.
“The figure (of forced disappearance) vanishes as such when they are exhibited, because its essential elements are no longer met, but the human rights violation remains,” alleges Pineda in reference to the fact that they continue to keep prisoners of conscience in prison without due process.
When is it a forced disappearance?
Uriel Pineda explains that for a person to be categorized as forcibly disappeared they have to have been arrested by officials, followed by the refusal of information or recognition of the detention.
Claudia Pineda adds to this that fact that international law “does not require a minimum term for there to be a forced disappearance” and that this “can take shape from the first hours after the detention” if the elements mentioned by Uriel Pineda are met. “The determining factor is not the time that has past, but the conduct of concealment and refusal on the part of the authorities,” adds Claudia.
As of May 31, 2026 the Mechanism counted 46 people detained for political reasons in Nicaragua. Of those, 43 are men, 3 are women, and 13 are elderly. Even though in that report nine appear in the condition of disappeared, Claudia Pineda states, without providing more details, that currently they “have documented at least 10”, and that “the number can vary as new information emerges.”
What is happening with those close to Brooklyn Rivera?
This variation could happen once the detention and forced disappearance of four relatives, his cook, and a friend of Brooklyn Rivera is confirmed, who were apprehended by police officers on Sunday May 31st, when they demanded the body of the indigenous leader to bury him in the zone of Sandy Bay, in the Northern Caribbean Coast, as he wanted.
The six people arrested are: the sister of Brooklyn Rivera, Alda López Bryan; the nephews Kurney Valle Bushy and Jorbis Hendy López; Glenis Panting Coleman (political nephew), Florencia Sarmiento (cook of Brooklyn), and the community leaders of Sandy Bay Lidaukra and personal friend of Rivera and his family, Jorge Webster Rojas.
Even though in the arrest of these six there are “noteworthy signs of political motivation,” Claudia Pineda says that the Mechanism “can only recognize them as political prisoners if the consent of their relatives is obtained,” and that the categorization must be done case by case and based on verifiable information. Otherwise, they continue disappeared, because nothing is known about their whereabouts.
Political prisoners in “extreme vulnerability”
In terms of the rest of the political prisoners not categorized as disappeared, the human rights expert is concerned because they are in a “situation of extreme vulnerability” in the face of possible acts of torture, bad treatment, prolonged isolation, or refusal of medical attention on the part of the regime.
“They face high risk situations due to prolonged periods of isolation, communication restrictions, lack of medical attention, and other forms of mistreatment,” explains Pineda and cites as references the cases of Jaime Navarrete, Manuel Urbina, Efrén Vilchez, Walner Ruíz, as well as the indigenous forest protectors and several of the political prisoners detained before 2018.
Some of them present “profound emotional and psychological deterioration” which has led them even to suicidal thoughts due to the previously mentioned conditions, according to the expert.
They are concerned about deaths in custody
The concern is greater after the death in custody of four political prisoners between August 2025 and May 2026. Those who died in this period are: Mauricio Alonso Petri, Carlos Cárdenas Zepeda, one who remains anonymous, and Brooklyn Rivera.
“These deaths demonstrate a serious deterioration of the prison conditions and reinforce fears about the physical and psychological safety of the people who remain in jail,” emphasized the sociologist.
After the death of Eddy Montes Praslín in 2019, eight people have died under custody of the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
