Environmental NGO demands 'immediate' release of indigenous rangers in Nicaragua

The environmental NGO Fundación del Río is urgently calling for the "immediate" release of indigenous Mayangna forest rangers detained in Nicaragua. The organization, now based in Costa Rica after being outlawed in Nicaragua, highlighted that some of the detained rangers are experiencing "delicate health conditions."

These forest rangers were tasked with monitoring and reporting "colonos" (settlers) invading indigenous territories and engaging in illegal land sales and leases. In January 2023, Nicaragua's Public Ministry accused 24 individuals, identified by NGOs as community forest rangers, of invading territories and attacking residents. Ten of these rangers have already been convicted.

Fundación del Río asserts that the arbitrary detentions, which occurred between 2021 and 2023, are retaliation for the rangers' work defending their territories against invaders and illegal extractive activities. Amaru Ruiz, director of the NGO, stated that the government is imprisoning these individuals to send a message to indigenous and Afro-descendant communities, discouraging them from reporting the ongoing invasions and the realities within their territories.

Ruiz further claimed that the Nicaraguan government, led by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, is using these detentions to create a "precedent of fear" as part of a broader strategy to instill terror both within and outside Nicaragua. He also pointed out that Nicaragua continues to hold the individuals despite international bodies deeming their detentions illegal. The NGO also raised concerns about the health of specific detained rangers, Rodrigo Bruno and the Celso Lino brothers, who are reportedly in poor health.