Brooklyn Rivera Dies in State Custody Amid Government Crackdown on Dissent

Nicaraguan Indigenous Leader Brooklyn Rivera Dies in State Custody

Brooklyn Rivera, a 73-year-old Nicaraguan indigenous leader and former lawmaker, died in state custody on Sunday, according to family sources cited by 100% Noticias news service. The government confirmed his detention since September 2023 following demands for proof of life from his family, the US government, and United Nations representatives.

Human rights groups have accused the Nicaraguan government of using Rivera’s arrest as part of a crackdown on political dissent. Rivera was detained while serving in parliament at the time, and his family claims the government never formally admitted he was being held or allowed them visitation rights.

Photographs released by the Interior Ministry show Rivera bedridden, intubated, and severely emaciated. The ministry described his condition as “delicate” with mechanical ventilation through a tracheotomy and intravenous feeding due to multiple organ failure, cirrhotic liver, and active lung infection.

The US Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs denounced the statement, accusing the Nicaraguan government of attempting to conceal its role in Rivera’s “cruel treatment and current condition.”

Rivera was a leader of the Misurasata militia during Nicaragua’s first Sandinista government (1979-1990) alongside Contra rebels. His political party, Yatama, initially opposed President Daniel Ortega but later became an ally after Ortega returned to power in 2007. In October 2023, the indigenous Yatama party announced it had been banned from running in elections.