US imposes restrictions on 100 Nicaraguan officials after activist’s death

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has increased its sanctions on Nicaraguan officials following the death of Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera while in government custody.

In a statement on Monday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the circumstances of Rivera’s death as “horrific”.

He also underscored that the government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo — spouses who share Nicaragua’s presidency — had held Rivera as a “political prisoner”, as part of their campaign to quash dissent.

“Today the Trump Administration took decisive steps to impose additional visa restrictions on more than 100 dictatorship officials and their family members,” Rubio said.

“With this new set of restrictions, the US government has now taken steps to impose visa restrictions on over 2,350 Nicaraguan officials and their family members for their complicit role in Rosario Murillo and Daniel Ortega’s dictatorship.”

The Murillo-Ortega government has long faced criticism for its treatment of perceived dissidents, who have faced imprisonment, forced exile and the removal of their citizenship.

Successive US administrations have criticised Nicaragua for its human rights record. But that scrutiny has increased in the wake of Rivera’s death last week.

Rivera, 73, had been held in government custody since September 2023, with little to no contact with the outside world.