Former Ibero-American Presidents Demand International Probe into Nicaragua Over Indigenous Leader's Death

A coalition of approximately thirty former Ibero-American presidents has formally requested the activation of universal jurisdiction mechanisms to subject the Nicaraguan government to an international criminal investigation. The group, known as the Democratic Initiative of Spain and the Americas (Grupo IDEA), accuses the state authorities of committing "crimes against humanity."

These former leaders, including Spain's José María Aznar, Mexico's Felipe Calderón and Vicente Fox, Colombia's Álvaro Uribe, Argentina's Mauricio Macri, and Costa Rica's Laura Chinchilla, are demanding a criminal inquiry into the death of Brooklyn Rivera. Rivera, a prominent indigenous opposition leader and head of the Yatama political organization, died last week. He had been held under arbitrary detention and conditions of forced disappearance for two and a half years.

The signatories of the joint statement "demand that the international community and the democracies of the Americas assume their collective protection obligations and exercise universal jurisdiction, given the absolute impossibility of the Nicaraguan state, complicit in forced disappearances, carrying out an impartial investigation." They denounce the systematic perpetration of "crimes against humanity" by the presidential "regime" led by Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo.

The statement from Grupo IDEA joins strong condemnations from the United Nations and Amnesty International following Rivera's death. The indigenous leader was arrested on September 29, 2023, and passed away on May 30 in intensive care at a Managua hospital. His death brings to seven the number of political dissidents who have died in Nicaraguan custody due to their opposition stances. Furthermore, a UN panel of experts reported that seven of Rivera's family members were victims of forced disappearance when they sought to claim his remains from state authorities.