Nicaragua confirms death of Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera in state custody

Nicaragua has officially confirmed the death of Brooklyn Rivera, a 73-year-old Indigenous leader and politician, while he was held in state custody. The government attributed the cause of death to a bacterial infection that developed following a bout of COVID-19. The announcement has triggered immediate scepticism from international observers and human rights advocates, who argue that the conditions of his detention were the primary factor in his demise.

Rivera had been held in isolation since September 2023, cut off from the outside world and denied independent medical oversight. For nearly three years, there was no public confirmation of his imprisonment, and his family was barred from visiting him. It was not until Wednesday that the Ministry of the Interior confirmed his detention, releasing photographs showing the Indigenous leader intubated in a hospital. At that time, the government described his condition as delicate, citing multiple organ failure, a cirrhotic liver, and an active lung infection requiring mechanical ventilation.

Reed Brody, a member of the United Nations Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua, rejected the government’s explanation. In a statement released prior to the confirmation of death, Brody argued that the cause of death must be attributed to the conditions of enforced disappearance rather than natural illness. “If he is dead, it cannot be said that the cause was illness,” Brody stated, adding that the denial of independent medical care over two years of custody left “no other way to read this.”

The United States State Department also issued a sharp rebuke, demanding Rivera’s unconditional release and blaming Nicaraguan leaders for his “cruel treatment.” In a statement posted to social media, the department described the repression and inhumanity as abhorrent, reiterating calls for the release of Rivera and all other political prisoners. The US government highlighted the singular role of the administration in subjecting Rivera to such conditions.

Rivera was a prominent figure in Nicaraguan politics, having led the Misurasata armed group during the conflict against the first Sandinista government between 1979 and 1990. He later co-founded Yamata, an Indigenous political party that secured limited autonomy for Indigenous peoples following peace negotiations. A member of the Miskito group, Rivera had spent his final years advocating for the protection of ancestral lands along Nicaragua’s northeast coast against resource exploitation. He was banned from re-entering the country in April 2023 after addressing a UN forum in Geneva, but smuggled himself back into Nicaragua and was arrested in September 2023.