Brooklyn Rivera, Indigenous Leader, Dies After Three Years in Nicaraguan Detention

Brooklyn Rivera, a prominent Nicaraguan indigenous leader and founder of the Yatama movement, has died after nearly three years of detention by the state.

The Nicaraguan Ministry of Health stated on Sunday that Rivera, 73, succumbed to "physical and neurological deterioration" associated with a Covid-19 infection. However, opposition media outlets report that the government took 15 hours to confirm the death and is refusing to release his body to his family.

Rivera's death follows his arbitrary detention in September 2023 upon his return to Nicaragua. His detention was only formally acknowledged by the regime over a year later, following international pressure.

Known for his long-standing advocacy for indigenous autonomy and his opposition to Ortega's Sandinista government in the 1980s, Rivera is one of several dissidents to die in Nicaraguan state custody, drawing criticism over the regime's record of political oppression.

The US State Department condemned Rivera's imprisonment as "unjust" and labelled the Nicaraguan Ministry of Health's statement an "attempt to conceal its central role in the cruel treatment and Rivera's current conditions." Amnesty International's César Marín also called for Rivera's immediate and unconditional release, highlighting the extreme risk he faced in state custody.

Bianca Jagger, a Nicaraguan human rights activist, held the Ortega regime responsible for Rivera's death, describing it as a "dictatorial regime" where political prisoners have frequently died in custody. The Indigenous Youth Association of Moskitia expressed "profound indignation at the inhuman, cruel and unjust treatment he endured in his final years," citing concerns over the detention of elderly individuals without due process.

The Argentina-based Inter-American Legal Assistance Center for Human Rights condemned Rivera's death, demanding criminal accountability for those responsible. Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo maintain absolute power in Nicaragua, marked by authoritarian tactics and violent repression of dissent since their return to power in 2007.