Rights Group Says at Least 23 Nicaraguan Opponents Remain Forcibly Disappeared

At least 23 opponents or critics of Nicaragua’s government remain forcibly disappeared, according to the Nicaraguan Collective for Historical Memory Human Rights, which issued its statement on the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

The organization accused the government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo of continuing to use forced disappearance against people considered opponents, critics or potential critics. It described the practice as a tool of persecution, punishment and control.

The group said arbitrary arrests, denial of contact and the concealment of detained people have formed part of broader state repression since anti-government protests erupted in April 2018. It said that repression has left at least 355 Nicaraguans shot dead by paramilitary groups, police and army soldiers.

According to the organization, authorities deny families information, block family and legal contact, hinder access to medicines and independent medical care, and keep detention conditions secret. The Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners in Nicaragua currently lists at least 60 political prisoners, including the 23 people classified as forcibly disappeared.

Among the more recent cases is Ricardo José Mendoza Irigoyen, 64, who was arbitrarily detained on Jan. 23. His family has received no information since that night, despite inquiries to police, judicial and prison authorities. The group also named former Sandinista Colonel Carlos Brenes, his wife Salvadora Martínez and retired military officer Víctor Boitano Coleman. All are over 60.

The organization cited the death of former Miskito Indigenous lawmaker Brooklyn Rivera Bryan in state custody as the most cruel consequence of the policy. It said Rivera remained hidden for more than 970 days, appeared publicly in critical condition and died under state custody a few days later.

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This crime against humanity and grave violation continues to be used by the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo as a mechanism of persecution, punishment and control against those considered opponents, critics or perceived as such.