“Repression and institutional corruption have become the method of government in Nicaragua under the control of the Ortega-Murillo family,” said Jan-Michael Simon, president of the Group of Independent Human Rights Experts.
“Political persecution is financed by the State, executed through its institutions and extended across borders. to ensure that no one – absolutely no one – stands in the way of the regime.”
‘Corruptly structured and financed’
Drawing on dozens of interviews and extensive documentary evidence, the report documents how since 2018 government funds intended for social assistance, cleanup projects and operational expenses were redirected to finance violent security operations, including the 2018 crackdown on nationwide protests.
“The misuse and diversion of public resources has directly contributed to serious human rights violations,” said Reed Brody, a member of the expert body appointed by the Human Rights Council.
“Repression in Nicaragua is not improvised: it is structured and financed in a corrupt way,” he added.
Repression beyond borders
The report details an extensive transnational surveillance and intelligence architecture used to monitor, intimidate and attack hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans living abroad.
The Government has arbitrarily deprived 452 Nicaraguans of their nationality, exiled thousands more by refusing to renew or provide necessary documents, and prohibited many from re-entering Nicaragua.
Others have faced surveillance, harassment, smear campaigns, property seizures and proxy retaliation against family members in their home countries.
“The co-presidents have built an apparatus that hunts down dissidents wherever they are.…No one is beyond the reach of this repressive regime,” Brody told reporters at the Human Rights Council press conference on Tuesday.
At least a dozen cases of murders or attempted murders of exiled critics have been reported.including the June 2025 assassination in Costa Rica of retired army major and government critic Roberto Samcam.
‘Crimes against humanity’
The report documents a multi-level intelligence structure that integrates the military, police, migration authorities, telecommunications regulators and diplomatic missions.
Meanwhile, digital surveillance and harassment, hacking, and doxing have been used to silence critics.
“Diplomatic and consular structures have been instrumentalized to track, monitor and intimidate exiled Nicaraguans,” said Ariela Peralta, from the body of independent experts.
Another concern has been gender rights violations that “are part of a deliberate repressive strategy aimed at punishing women and feminist movements for their long-standing leadership as autonomous political actors,” Peralta said.
The report reiterated its previous conclusions that violations committed since 2018 amount, prima facie, to crimes against humanity.
“Urgent” international responsibility
As Nicaragua has discontinued cooperation with the Human Rights Council and has withdrawn from several UN bodies, the Group of Experts highlighted that “International accountability is more urgent than ever.”.
The UN independent experts called on Member States to mobilize a comprehensive accountability framework (encompassing universal jurisdiction, targeted sanctions and treaty-based litigation) while ensuring robust protection for exiled populations.