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Nicaragua: UN experts publish groundbreaking report naming 54 officials responsible for systematic repression

Press releases
Independent investigation

03 April 2025

GENEVA/PANAMA -- The UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua today released a landmark report which identifies for the first time dozens of Government, military and ruling party officials it says are responsible for grave human rights violations, abuses and crimes that are fueling an escalating and systematic campaign of repression in Nicaragua.

All 54 persons named in the report - which details institutional structures, command chains and individual responsibilities - played key roles in arbitrary detentions, torture, extrajudicial executions, persecution of civil society and the media, denationalization campaigns, and the confiscation of private property.

"For the first time, we are revealing how dozens of individuals whom we name are connected to the human rights violations and crimes documented in our previous reports," said Jan-Michael Simon, Chair of the Group. "This report lays bare the anatomy of a governing system that has weaponized every arm of the State against its own people."

The 234-page report - based on extensive interviews, verified documentation and confidential sources - includes detailed diagrams mapping the relationships between State and non-state actors within Nicaragua's ruling apparatus. It underscores how Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo - who assumed the titles of "co-presidents" following a February 2025 constitutional reform - have built a centralized and repressive regime that has co-opted all branches of Government and blurred the lines between party and State.

"What we uncovered is a tightly coordinated system of repression, extending from the presidency down to local officials," said Ariela Peralta, an expert member of the Group. "These are not random or isolated incidents - they are part of a deliberate and well-orchestrated State policy carried out by identifiable actors through defined chains of command."

The Experts reiterated their call on the international community to take urgent and concrete measures, including legal action, targeted sanctions, and increased support for victims and civil society.

"This report is a roadmap for justice," said Reed Brody, an expert member of the Group. "States, prosecutors, and international institutions now have the names, the structures, and the evidence needed to pursue accountability."

The list of named individuals was previously shared confidentially with the Nicaraguan Government, which continues to refuse all cooperation with the Group.

On 27 February 2025 - the day before the Group's main report was presented to the Human Rights Council - the Government announced its withdrawal from the Council and all its subsidiary mechanisms.

ENDS

Read the full report (in Spanish only) here.

Background: The Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua is an independent body mandated by the UN Human Rights Council. Established in March 2022, it is tasked to conduct thorough and independent investigations into all alleged human rights violations and abuses committed in Nicaragua since April 2018. The members of the Group of Experts are Jan-Michael Simon (Chair), Ariela Peralta Distéfano and Reed Brody.

For more information about the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua can be found here.

The expert members of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua were appointed by the President of UN Human Rights Council to gather data on alleged human rights violations, collect unbiased information and provide independent analysis. The experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights Office provides administrative, technical and logistical support to the Group, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including the UN. Any views or opinions presented herein are solely those of the mandated body and its experts, and do not necessarily represent those of the UN.