The two presidents of Nicaragua (Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario María Murillo Zambrana) keep going with the repressive policies against all Nicaraguan citizens. No one can escape their hatred and intolerance. When an ordinary citizen publicly expresses anything deemed suspicious, repressive forces swiftly target them, imprisoning them on terrorism charges and confiscating their possessions, including homes, farms, vehicles, and other assets. And relatives of the victims must remain in silence because if they complain, repression will come after them, too. Additionally, they are likely to be stripped of their nationality, leaving them without legal identification or valid diplomas when traveling abroad. Nothing will validate their existence as Nicaraguan citizens once they are living in exile. To put it bluntly, the Ortega-Murillo regime wants their Nicaraguan citizens in the opposition parties to live a miserable life, even after they have left their home country.

When it comes to freedom of conscience, the situation could not be more dramatic: Four Bishops in exile, 34 pastors impeded from returning to Nicaragua, and close to 170 priests who have been forced into exile. These priests and many more laymen are “desterrados”, as it is said in Spanish. This means that they have been forced to leave their homeland because the government in power wants it so! No choice.

Four former Sandinista army Generals were put in jail. Two of them died while in prison. One of them was Daniel Ortega´s own brother, Humberto, who headed the Sandinista Army for many years while his brother was ruling the government.

There is not a single opposition newspaper one can buy at a kiosk to read about what is going on in Nicaragua or the world. Freedom of expression does not exist. Given this situation, people would rather shut up and avoid social contact with friends or neighbors. There is a pervading fear of being identified as a suspicious person who is “likely involved in a conspiracy to topple down the government”. And what about journalists? Over 140 live in exile in the US, Costa Rica, Panama, Spain, and elsewhere.

Parallel to the government crackdown, the Ortega-Murillo regime amended the constitution of Nicaragua to better meet their dictatorial needs so they can now rule their country without legal obstacles or moral reservations. Some of the most terrible aspects are that torture, confiscation and legal provisions dealing with the due process were removed from the constitution. Consequently, Nicaraguans are being left at the mercy of the Sandinista repressive apparatus: police, judges, magistrates, and paramilitary. The ruling elites can do whatever they want against disenfranchised citizens.

In Nicaragua, prior to 2018, there were three non-governmental organizations focused on human rights. They would gather information about the government repression or human right violations taking place every day. Now that these NGOs are gone – currently working in exile – Nicaraguans living in their country do not have any legal protection anymore.

Nobody is safe. Nobody is free. Nobody is happy.

Rough estimates say that almost one million Nicaraguans are living in exile. And probably half of those tried to find a place to live in the United States of America. With Donald J. Trump back in power in Washington, however, Nicaraguans face widespread persecution again. Nicaraguans who had to flee because of repression in their own country must now flee again. Where to? Who will take them in? First, they were persecuted at home and now they are being persecuted in exile. It vividly underscores the profound tragedy.

How long will this last for thousands of Nicaraguans now going all over in search of a safe place to live? Nobody would have thought that President Trump’s current domestic policies would in such dramatic way affect those Nicaraguans who are in search of a legal status. We are not talking about criminals. We talk about decent, hard-working and law-abiding people.

Will the Nicaraguan nightmare continue to hunt one million human beings who thought they would be safer and well protected in the United States?

Antonio C. López
Head of ISHR Nicaragua