In a context of repression and total closure of civic space in Nicaragua, the authorities have continued to implement and streamline a strategy of repression that has escalated from the use of lethal force against protesters in 2018 to the current arbitrary deprivation of nationality of those considered dissidents. Despite releases from prison in 2023 and 2024, many people continue to be deprived of their liberty for political reasons or simply for expressing anti-government views. The harassment, intimidation and misuse of criminal law that initially targeted protesters, activists, political opponents, journalists, human rights defenders and indigenous leaders has been extended to society as a whole and now affects anyone perceived as a threat to official policy or the state narrative.
