Brooklyn Rivera's condition reveals 'cruel and inhumane' treatment of political prisoners

Photographs revealing the emaciated and bedridden condition of Miskito indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera have ignited widespread indignation among exiled political prisoners, human rights organizations, and Nicaraguan women's movements. The images, released by the Ministry of the Interior on May 27, 2026, show Rivera extremely frail and hospitalized at the Fernando Vélez Paiz Hospital in Managua.

According to the government, Rivera has been in intensive care since March 7, 2026, requiring mechanical ventilation via tracheotomy and intravenous feeding due to respiratory problems and multi-organ failure. However, former political prisoner Ana Margarita Vigil condemned the regime's "shamelessness" and the "cruel and dehumanizing dimension" of the situation. She highlighted the family's struggle to obtain information and access to Rivera, stating, "No one should find out about the critical state of a loved one after years of isolation and concealment."

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Me indigna el descaro del régimen y me duele en el alma el sufrimiento de Tininiska (hija de Brooklyn Rivera) y el resto de la familia. Es imposible no pensar en la dimensión profundamente cruel y deshumanizante de esta situación.

The human rights collective Nicaragua Never More denounced the regime's "cruel and inhumane practice" of exhibiting political prisoners in poor health instead of releasing them. Nicaraguan lawyer Gonzalo Carrión, speaking from exile in Costa Rica, described the images as evidence of "state crimes, crimes against humanity," given Rivera's prior status as a "disappeared" person. Carrión held the Nicaraguan regime responsible for the 73-year-old former indigenous deputy's life, who has been detained since September 2023.

In her daily address on May 27, Vice President Rosario Murillo referred to Rivera as "brother" and prayed for his recovery, while attributing his deteriorating health to "living conditions and continuous displacements related to his work." This contradicts statements from Rivera's daughter, Tininiska Rivera, who asserted that her father was in optimal physical condition when he was arbitrarily arrested in September 2023.

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hermano