Expulsions, deprivation of nationality and arbitrary detentions of dissenters and others continued, exposing them to severe vulnerability and violations of their rights. Authorities imposed strict restrictions on the media, threatening freedom of expression. Journalists were at risk of death and enforced disappearance. Indigenous Peoples remained at risk of displacement, enforced disappearance and attacks by pro-government armed groups.
Background
Repression continued, having begun during the 2018 protests, including the dismantling of civil society organizations and criminalization of dissent. More than 5,000 organizations had been closed since 2018 as of September 2024 including religious groups of various denominations.
In 2024, the UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua issued four thematic reports highlighting human rights violations and abuses committed against Indigenous Peoples and Afro-descendant communities, members of the Catholic Church and other Christian denominations, rural communities, and students, teachers, academic administrators and other university staff. Despite repeated calls from the international community for the government to investigate and be accountable for human rights abuses, impunity prevailed.
Economic, social and cultural rights
The housing situation remained critical in hurricane-affected regions, with government promises of reconstruction unfulfilled. The healthcare system was politicized, disproportionately impacting opposition members and political prisoners, while maternal and adolescent health services remained inadequate. The closure of 34 universities disrupted studies for 37,000 students and many of those fleeing the country were denied access to their academic records.
Arbitrary deprivation of nationality
In January, 16 Catholic Church representatives, including Rolando Álvarez, who had been imprisoned for over a year, were expelled and stripped of their nationality. In September, authorities expelled to Guatemala another 135 individuals who had previously been incarcerated for political reasons, some for over two years. Since the expulsions started in 2023, more than 400 individuals have been left without access to their property, facing restrictions on their rights and freedoms, and encountering serious difficulties integrating into host countries.
The UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua reported that the expulsion of both Nicaraguan nationals and foreign residents without due process not only stripped the former of their nationality but also left them all in a state of severe vulnerability, and reinforced a climate of fear for others who may be seen as critics of the government.
Arbitrary arrests and detentions
The Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners in Nicaragua documented at least 151 individuals detained for political reasons in 2024. By the end of the year, 45 of these remained in detention.
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights granted provisional measures for many of those detained for political reasons. The court ordered Nicaragua to “take the necessary measures to effectively protect their lives, integrity, health, adequate nutrition, access to drinking water, and personal freedom”. Violence and torture and other ill-treatment in prisons were widely reported, including physical and psychological abuse by prison authorities. The international community, including the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, issued precautionary measures to protect several detainees, but conditions in detention centres remained dire.
Freedom of expression
Authorities continued implementing measures to silence independent media, creating an information vacuum and making it difficult for Nicaraguans to access independent news and information. Between 2018 and 2024, at least 276 journalists were forced to flee the country, according to a report published in September by the Independent Journalists and Communicators of Nicaragua. The government confiscated the assets of media outlets, further stifling dissent. Between 2018 and June 2024, more than 50 media outlets had their assets seized. The government also implemented legislation aimed at controlling online content, requiring telecommunications companies to provide user data and restricting permissible content at artistic events.
In July, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights presented Case 14.746 to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, highlighting the extrajudicial killing of journalist Ángel Eduardo Gahona López by state agents. Impunity in the case persisted.
Local organizations reported the enforced disappearance of at least one journalist; in her last public communication she reported that her home was being raided.
Indigenous Peoples’ rights
Indigenous Peoples continued to face forced displacement and attacks by pro-government armed groups and settlers. According to the Permanent Human Rights Observatory of the Nicaragua Lucha Coalition, multiple violations were reported against Indigenous human rights defenders, including arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance and displacement in territories such as the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve.
In March, regional elections on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast were held without Indigenous political party participation for the first time in years. The exclusion of the Yapti Tasba Masraka Nanih Asla Takanka (YATAMA) political party followed the cancellation of its legal status in September 2023 and the detention of its leaders Brooklyn Rivera and Nancy Elizabeth Henríquez, who were later charged with treason and conspiracy. At the end of the year, the whereabouts of Brooklyn Rivera’s place of detention was not released by the authorities. Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience in December.1
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled against Nicaragua, highlighting violations of Indigenous rights, including forced displacement and lack of consultation on projects such as the interoceanic canal, reaffirming the need to protect Indigenous territories. Mayagna forest rangers defending the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve remained imprisoned on dubious charges, reflecting the heightened risks for Indigenous Peoples.
Sexual and reproductive rights
Abortion remained prohibited in all circumstances.
