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Relatives of opposition figures held in custody by the regime led by Nicaragua’s “co-presidents,” Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, called on Sunday, August 31, 2025, for the lives of their loved ones, following the deaths of two detainees over the past week.
“They were taken alive, we want them back alive!” demanded the families of imprisoned or forcibly disappeared opposition members in Nicaragua.
“In recent weeks, the dictatorship has returned the bodies of two people who had been disappeared for political reasons,” they denounced.
“These crimes, which clearly demonstrate the brutality of the regime, show that political imprisonment in Nicaragua not only entails persecution and torture, but also a death sentence under inhumane conditions,” they warned.
Various opposition organizations reported the recent death in custody of lawyer Carlos Cárdenas Zepeda, who had reportedly been detained fifteen days earlier under orders from the Ortega-Murillo regime. His death follows that of opposition figure Mauricio Alonso, whose body was handed to his family this week after more than a month in detention.
“We refuse to normalize this infamous practice and strongly denounce that every death in state custody is a political assassination,” the families continued.
“The lives of our relatives are in constant danger, and the official silence only confirms the cruelty with which this regime operates,” they added.
Neither the Nicaraguan government nor the National Police have commented on these detentions or the subsequent deaths, and they rarely provide official statements.
Families call on the world not to remain silent
Describing their situation as grave and painful, the families said they have been living for months with the constant anguish of not knowing where their loved ones are or in what conditions they are being held.
They stated that “the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship keeps hundreds of people kidnapped in clandestine prisons and detention centers, subjected to physical and psychological torture, prolonged isolation, and inhumane conditions.”
“They also commit the heinous crime of enforced disappearance, which deprives families of certainty about the lives of their loved ones and constitutes one of the most serious human rights violations,” they added.
In their statement, the families made an urgent call to the international community, human rights organizations, and democratic governments worldwide to not remain silent.
“The Nicaraguan people need decisive action to stop this barbarity and pave the way for justice, freedom, and democracy,” they said.
The families also demanded “the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners in Nicaragua,” the safe return of all disappeared persons, and respect for the right to life, integrity, and dignity of every prisoner of conscience.
Additionally, they called for “accountability for those who order and carry out these crimes against humanity,” as well as “justice for those killed in custody and reparations for their families.”
