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The dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo released several photographs on Sunday, June 14, 2026, showing Miskito leader and political prisoner Steadman Fagot Müller, whose whereabouts had remained unknown since his illegal arrest on September 14, 2024.
In the images, the former presidential adviser to Daniel Ortega is seen talking with his wife, Stefany Martínez, during what pro-government media described as a “weekly” visit at La Modelo prison on June 12, 2026.
However, Fagot’s relatives stated on social media that the 72-year-old Miskito leader does not receive weekly visits and demanded that his children and siblings be allowed to see him.
Steadman Fagot was arrested one day after publicly denouncing the invasion and deforestation of Indigenous territories on Nicaragua’s Caribbean Coast. He blamed local authorities for the situation while absolving Ortega and Murillo of responsibility.
The Miskito leader, who for decades acted on Ortega’s behalf in the Río Coco region, was detained by the Nicaraguan Army in Waspán, a municipality in the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region. In a brief statement, the Armed Forces reported that a patrol from the Northern Military Detachment had “received information regarding plans prepared by citizen Stedman Fagot Müller (sic) to carry out activities outside the law with individuals linked to drug trafficking and organized crime, coming from Honduras.”
According to the Army, the alleged objective was “to seize military-issued weapons from Army posts located along the banks of the Río Coco.”
Steadman Fagot was arrested nearly a year after the detention of leaders of the Indigenous political party Yatama, Brooklyn Rivera Bryan and Nancy Elizabeth Henríquez. Rivera died in the dictatorship’s custody on May 31, 2026, while Henríquez has been under house arrest since March 2026.
Subjected to Enforced Disappearance
Steadman Fagot is among the 46 political prisoners identified by the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners as of May 31, 2026. Of all the prisoners of conscience, thirteen are older adults and nine remain victims of enforced disappearance. The Miskito leader fell into both categories.
The organization emphasized the continued use of state secrecy regarding the whereabouts, physical integrity, and detention conditions of a significant portion of those documented.
According to the mechanism’s data, 26% of the 46 political prisoners are members or leaders of Indigenous communities, 21% are farmers, and 15% are individuals previously linked to the state apparatus or the ruling party.
Who Is Steadman Fagot?
In the early 1980s, the first Sandinista government identified Steadman Fagot as a former Somoza-era security agent who allegedly attempted to “invade” Nicaragua from the Honduran Moskitia region. For his part, the Miskito leader denounced before international human rights organizations the massacre of 35 people in the community of Leimus, who were later buried in mass graves. Fagot claimed that the 35 Indigenous victims were “buried alive” in December 1981 during the forced relocation campaign known as the “Red Christmas” (Navidad Roja). He further alleged that nearly 400 Miskitos were killed during the operation.
A mediados de los ochenta, el Gobierno del FSLN exigió al Gobierno de Honduras la extradición del nicaragüense, tras asegurar que era dirigido por la Agencia Central de Inteligencia (CIA), de Estados Unidos. Para entonces, Steadman Fagot era líder de MISURAKISAN o Unidad Indígena de la Costa Nicaragüense, que reunía a tres etnias indígenas en la lucha contrarrevolucionaria. En 1987, MISURAKISAN y MISURASATA (Miskito, Sumo, Rama, Sandinista Asla Takank), líderado por Brooklyn Rivera, se unieron para fundar el partido indígena Yatama, del que luego solo Rivera conservó el liderazgo.
After years on opposing sides, Steadman Fagot eventually allied himself with the Sandinista Front. Since Daniel Ortega’s return to power in 2007, he remained closely aligned with the ruling party, holding various government positions, including director of the Nicaraguan Fisheries Institute (Inpesca).
In January 2017, the Miskito leader was appointed presidential adviser on policies toward Indigenous peoples. His appointment coincided with one of the ruptures in the alliance between the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) and Yatama. Rivera and Fagot have long been the two most prominent Miskito leaders, alternately aligned with or opposed to the FSLN from different political camps. On August 16, 2024, Fagot was among 16 presidential advisers whose appointments were confirmed by Rosario Murillo as part of what she described as a process of “reorganization and optimization” of the state apparatus.
