Additional Coverage:
Brooklyn Rivera, a prominent Indigenous leader and longtime advocate for the rights of Nicaragua’s Miskito people, has died following his recent imprisonment by the Nicaraguan government. Rivera, who was detained in September 2023, reportedly succumbed to a bacterial infection after complications related to COVID-19 severely impacted his health.
The Nicaraguan government announced Rivera’s death on Sunday, attributing it to the infection and subsequent physical and neurological decline. However, the statement sparked widespread condemnation from human rights organizations and activists around the world, who criticized the government’s handling of his detention and death.
Reed Brody, an American human rights attorney and U.N. expert on Nicaragua, condemned the government’s actions, highlighting the irony of their recent statement referring to Rivera as “Brother” after initially withholding information about his condition and whereabouts. “They took him alive, and after refusing to tell his family, his lawyer, the world anything about his fate, then they call him brother,” Brody remarked, calling the government’s conduct “unconscionable cynicism.”
International pressure had mounted in recent days. The U.S. government urged Rivera’s release after photos emerged showing him in critical condition in a hospital. Meanwhile, the Inter-American Center for Legal Assistance in Human Rights, based in Argentina, called for those responsible for Rivera’s death to face criminal accountability.
Rivera was a key figure in the Miskito community, which inhabits Nicaragua’s resource-rich northeast coast. For decades, he championed Indigenous land rights and autonomy in the face of opposition from the Sandinista government led by President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo. His efforts helped establish the region’s autonomous status, a crucial area for foreign investment due to its natural resources.
Beginning his activism in the 1960s, Rivera opposed the Sandinista regime in the late 1970s, which forced him into exile in Costa Rica in 1980. After surviving a targeted attack, he sought refuge in Colombia before returning to Nicaragua. In the late 1980s, he co-founded Yatama, the Organization of the Peoples of Mother Earth, which played a significant role in negotiating Indigenous autonomy.
In April 2023, Rivera spoke at a United Nations forum in Geneva, openly criticizing the Nicaraguan government. Shortly after, Ortega and Murillo barred him from re-entering the country, but Rivera returned clandestinely and lived in hiding until his arrest in September on charges of terrorism. Following his detention, Rivera disappeared from public view, with no information provided to his family, lawyers, or the international community until recent photos surfaced showing his critical condition.
Brody emphasized the broader context of repression, noting that since 2018, 124 Indigenous people have been arbitrarily detained in Nicaragua, with dozens of deaths linked to violent clashes. He also pointed out that at least six political prisoners have died in custody since 2019.
“Brooklyn Rivera spent 40 years fighting for his people,” Brody said. “Hopefully, the international community will finally pay attention.” His death marks a tragic chapter in the ongoing struggle for Indigenous rights and justice in Nicaragua.