Nicaragua’s government institutions have been involved in the detention, torture and enforced disappearance of political opponents as part of a coordinated campaign to suppress dissent, according to a UN report published Tuesday.
The three experts from the UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua said their investigation documented cases of people being jailed, tortured and persecuted because of their political views.
They described the actions as part of a broad and organised campaign against civilians, saying police, prosecutors and intelligence agencies operated together through a command structure that reached the highest levels of government.
The agencies were involved in identifying critics, placing them under surveillance and detaining them, the investigators said.
Nicaragua’s diplomatic mission in Geneva had not immediately responded to a request from Reuters for comment.
President Daniel Ortega has led Nicaragua for almost 20 years and is currently the longest-serving national leader in the Americas. His wife, Rosario Murillo, who previously served as vice president, now holds the position of co-president alongside him.
Ortega has said Nicaragua would no longer conduct elections in the previous manner, arguing that this was necessary to prevent the opposition from “seizing the government” again.
UN investigators said the move was consistent with their concerns over the continued erosion of political and civil liberties in the country.
Earlier this month, Nicaragua’s National Assembly approved the first vote on constitutional reforms that would prevent opposition parties from participating in future elections. The move has drawn criticism from the United States and several other countries in the region.
The UN report traced the authorities’ use of detention and trials that failed to meet fair standards to efforts to suppress opposition following protests against Ortega’s government in April 2018.
More than 300 people died during the subsequent government crackdown, while the unrest also prompted large numbers of Nicaraguans to leave the country.
The experts said authorities had increasingly relied on prolonged disappearances and police operations across the country since 2023, describing the measures as efforts to suppress remaining opposition and strengthen government control.
The investigation said the campaign had extended beyond political activists, with church members, Indigenous leaders and former government and military officials also among those targeted.
Women held by the authorities were reportedly subjected to additional forms of gender-based mistreatment and humiliation, including threats involving sexual violence.
The experts also documented eight cases involving deaths in government custody.
Their investigation confirmed 161 cases of enforced disappearance dating back to April 2018, with periods of disappearance ranging from several days to several years.
The UN experts called on Nicaragua to stop using enforced disappearances and to disclose what happened to people whose whereabouts remain unknown.
Goodness Anunobi
Follow us on:
