{"id":346,"date":"2026-06-01T04:12:44","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T04:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=346"},"modified":"2026-06-01T04:12:44","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T04:12:44","slug":"indigenous-leader-brooklyn-rivera-dies-in-nicaragua-after-nearly-3-years-of-detention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=346","title":{"rendered":"Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera dies in Nicaragua after nearly 3 years of detention"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) \u2014 Brooklyn Rivera<\/span>, a renowned Indigenous leader from Nicaragua<\/span> who spent years fighting for the rights of his community and was imprisoned by the government in September 2023, has died.<\/p>\n

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The Nicaraguan government issued a statement Sunday saying that Rivera died from a bacterial infection after his health had declined following a case of COVID-19, which led to his physical and neurological deterioration.<\/p>\n

Human rights activists<\/span> and groups worldwide denounced his death and an earlier statement by the government in which they referred to Rivera as \u201cBrother\u201d and said they were praying for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey took him alive, and after refusing to tell his family, his lawyer, the world anything about his fate, then they call him brother,\u201d said Reed Brody, an American human rights lawyer and member of a group of U.N. experts on Nicaragua. \u201cUnconscionable cynicism on the part of the government to make it seem like they were trying to help him.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The U.S. had called for his release on Friday after the Nicaraguan government published photos of him in the hospital in critical condition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just complete neglect,\u201d said Manuel Orozco, director of the migration, remittances and development program at the Inter-American Dialogue. \u201cHis death represents the magnitude of repression.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Argentina-based Inter-American Center for Legal Assistance in Human Rights also denounced Rivera\u2019s death. Those responsible for the death of the Indigenous lawmaker \u201cshould be held criminally accountable,\u201d it wrote on X.<\/p>\n

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Albert R. Ramdin, secretary general of the Organization of American States, said he was \u201cdeeply concerned\u201d about reports of Rivera\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis death demands an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation,\u201d Ramdin wrote Sunday on X. \u201cThe rights to life, personal integrity, and due process must be guaranteed. My condolences to his family and the Miskito people. We continue to demand the unconditional release of all political prisoners unjustly detained by the Nicaraguan regime.\u201d<\/p>\n

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A fight for land and autonomy<\/h2>\n

Rivera led the Miskito people, who live along Nicaragua\u2019s northeast coast and have long fought to retain their lands.<\/p>\n

For decades, he fought the ruling Sandinista government and helped establish the area along the northeast coast as an autonomous region. It is rich in gold, silver and other resources, and it is considered a key area for the administration of co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo<\/span> to attract foreign investment.<\/p>\n

Rivera\u2019s fight for Nicaragua\u2019s Indigenous people began in the 1960s. After opposing Ortega\u2019s Sandinista\u2019s government in the late 1970s, he temporarily went into exile in nearby Costa Rica in 1980.<\/p>\n

He later returned to Nicaragua, where he survived an attack by Sandinista forces, forcing him once again to seek safety elsewhere, this time, in Colombia.<\/p>\n

In the late 1980s, he founded the group known as Yatama, the Organization of the Peoples of Mother Earth. It played a key role in securing limited autonomy for Indigenous people following peace negotiations with the Sandinistas.<\/p>\n

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\u201cHe has been fighting in one way or another for their rights,\u201d Brody said. \u201cHe fought for land, he fought for autonomy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Nicaragua\u2019s Indigenous people operated autonomously until they were annexed into the country in 1905.<\/p>\n

\u201cSince then, they have advocated for the recognition of their rights and for respect for their identity,\u201d stated a September 2024 report published by the group of U.N. experts.<\/p>\n

First official sign of life since the 2023 arrest<\/h2>\n

In April 2023, Rivera traveled to Geneva to participate in a U.N. forum on Indigenous people, where he spoke out against the Nicaraguan government.<\/p>\n

Shortly afterward, Ortega and Murillo banned him from returning to the country, but he slipped in anyway and lived in hiding until September 2023, when he was arrested and accused of terrorism.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody heard from him since then,\u201d Brody said in a phone interview, adding that he and other U.N. experts wrote the government requesting that it provide some sign of life. \u201cThe government never gave any indication. He was a disappeared person.\u201d<\/p>\n

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It wasn\u2019t until late last week that the government published pictures of Rivera in the hospital.<\/p>\n

Rivera was not only respected by his supporters, but by political opponents as well, Orozco said in a phone interview, noting he had known Rivera for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s disheartening how this dynasty is just getting rid of people, back and forth, left and right and getting away with it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ever since his arrest and that of his second-in-command, Rivera\u2019s party has gone into hiding, Orozco said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a big blow,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have been basically dispersed, not organized. They keep a certain level of communication, of political engagement underground, but mostly with people in the exile.\u201d<\/p>\n

Condolences for Rivera poured in online, with one person writing on Facebook: \u201cHe was a father to our generation; he taught us, guided us, and led us with actions, not words.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Brody noted that the U.N. group of experts has documented 124 cases of arbitrary detention of Indigenous people in Nicaragua since 2018, and 46 deaths following violence incidents.<\/p>\n

He noted that at least six political prisoners have died in custody since 2019, including two last August.<\/p>\n

\u201cBrooklyn Rivera spent 40 years fighting for his people,\u201d he said, \u201cand hopefully the international community will finally pay attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more WHO chief hails 5 Ebola recoveries as a new treatment center opens in eastern Congo<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Renowned Indigenous leader Brooklyn River, who spent years fighting for the rights of his community and was imprisoned by the government in September 2023, has died. The Nicaraguan government issued a statement Sunday alleging that Rivera died from a bacterial infection after his health had declined following a case of COVID-19, which led to his physical and neurological deterioration.. Human rights activists and groups worldwide denounced his death and a statement that the government released Saturday in which they referred to Rivera as \u201cBrother\u201d and said they were praying for him.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":345,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"yoast_head":"\nIndigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera dies in Nicaragua after nearly 3 years of detention - Top Moving Pros<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/topmovingpross.com\/?p=346\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera dies in Nicaragua after nearly 3 years of detention - Top Moving Pros\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Renowned Indigenous leader Brooklyn River, who spent years fighting for the rights of his community and was imprisoned by the government in September 2023, has died. 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