UN Experts Detail Nicaragua's Transnational Repression Against Exiles

UN Report Exposes Widespread Repression

GENEVA – The UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (GHREN) released a comprehensive report on September 23, 2025, detailing how the Nicaraguan government, under President Daniel Ortega and Vice-President Rosario Murillo, systematically extends its repressive tactics to target critics living abroad. The report, presented to the UN Human Rights Council, describes a deliberate strategy to silence dissent among exiles through various severe measures.

Tactics of Transnational Persecution

The GHREN's findings reveal a broad array of tactics employed by the Nicaraguan government to persecute its citizens beyond national borders. A significant aspect of this repression is the arbitrary deprivation of nationality; between February 2023 and September 2024, at least 452 individuals were stripped of their nationality by court order, with others losing it without due legal process. Many Nicaraguans abroad have also been refused passport renewals or access to other official documents, effectively rendering them 'de facto' stateless and hindering their ability to rebuild their lives.

Other documented violations include:

• Confiscation of property and pensions belonging to exiles and their families.
• Entry bans, prohibiting individuals from returning to their home country.
• Misuse of international systems, such as false Interpol alerts, to target opponents.
• Revocation of academic and professional degrees and suppression of civil registry documents.

Extensive Surveillance and Intimidation

The report highlights a sophisticated network of surveillance and intelligence used by the Ortega-Murillo regime. This 'broad and complex network' involves the Army, Police, foreign service, and non-state agents, operating to monitor and harass Nicaraguans in exile. Surveillance methods include physical tracking by undercover officials and informants, as well as digital espionage through account hacking, spyware, and communication interception. Exiled individuals have reported being photographed, followed, and threatened in various countries, including Costa Rica, Honduras, Belgium, Guatemala, Spain, and the United States.

The repression also extends to family members remaining in Nicaragua, who face harassment, arbitrary detentions, dismissals, and property confiscation solely due to their familial ties to critics abroad. This creates a 'climate of fear' within the Nicaraguan diaspora, where exiles often feel unsafe communicating with allies or even family members in Nicaragua due to fear of reprisals.

Calls for International Accountability

The GHREN emphasized that these actions are part of a 'coherent and deliberate state policy aimed at silencing dissent, eradicating opposition voices abroad, and ensuring impunity for crimes committed within Nicaragua.' The experts urged the international community to take decisive action, including holding Nicaragua accountable before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for violations of the UN Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness of 1961. They also called for expanded sanctions against individuals and institutions involved in human rights violations and for host countries to enhance protection for Nicaraguan exiles.

The report noted that the murder of retired army major Roberto Samcam in Costa Rica in June 2025, a vocal critic who had been stripped of his nationality, underscores the pervasive climate of fear, even though no direct link to Nicaraguan authorities has been established.