Indigenous Leader Brooklyn Rivera Dies in Nicaraguan Custody, Rights Groups Question Official Story

Indigenous Miskito leader Brooklyn Rivera has died at 73 after years in state custody in Nicaragua; the government says the death was due to a bacterial infection following COVID-19, but rights advocates and UN experts contest the circumstances, citing an extended period of enforced disappearance with no independent medical oversight since Rivera’s September 2023 arrest on terrorism charges. The case has sparked international condemnation, including US calls for accountability and the demand for the release of political prisoners, as Rivera’s activism and leadership of Indigenous rights groups were central to his opposition to the Ortega–Murillo government.