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The family of murdered former Nicaraguan Army major Roberto Samcam Ruiz has called for action from the governments of Costa Rica and Spain, as well as the international community. “Act firmly to protect the exiled community and ensure that what happened to my father never happens again,” pleaded Gabriel Samcam, son of the ex-military officer, during the funeral mass held in San José, Costa Rica.
Samcam Ruiz was killed on the morning of Thursday, June 19, 2025, at the doorstep of his home in a neighborhood north of the Costa Rican capital, shot eight times by a hitman. The crime has triggered strong reactions from the Nicaraguan migrant and exile community, Costa Rican politicians, and international actors.
From the perspective of the Nicaraguan exile community, this was a crime orchestrated by the Ortega-Murillo regime in Nicaragua. Costa Rican investigative authorities have said they are not ruling out that possibility. Samcam’s family and Father Rafael Aragón, who presided over the mass, both support the theory that the crime points toward Managua—specifically toward El Carmen, the neighborhood where the Ortega-Murillo family resides.
Father Aragón said, “We continue to dream of a free Nicaragua, with social justice. His death joins the outcry for justice for those murdered in 2018. We continue searching for the truth, fighting for justice and reconciliation, pushing past the lies and hatred that [they] promote among our people, with the courage and strength that Roberto leaves with us.”
Roberto Samcam, “a warrior for truth”
Speaking of the former operations chief of artillery, brigade, and irregular warfare battalion, who was also an industrial engineer and business administrator, Father Aragón added: “We honor you as a warrior for truth who inspires us to stay true to your ideals of justice, memory, and a more open and participatory society. The dictatorship took your life—but not your cause.”
Gabriel Samcam reminded mourners that his father had denounced a new wave of transnational repression carried out beyond Nicaragua’s borders—manifested through attacks on political exiles abroad. “In one interview, he warned that Nicaraguan government intelligence cells are operating in Costa Rica with the mission of surveilling and attacking political refugees,” he said.
For that reason, he reiterated the family’s request for the Costa Rican government to accept the support offered by the United States to investigate the crime “and identify not only the material perpetrators, but above all, the intellectual authors. It is imperative to dismantle these repression networks and defend Costa Rican soil so it can continue being a land of peace.”
Samantha Jirón, a former political prisoner who was banished from Nicaragua and taken in by the Samcam family during her exile in Costa Rica, said the family is asking the Government of the Republic of Costa Rica to take a public stance on the case that ended the life of a Nicaraguan exile who also held Spanish citizenship. It is important that they do so not only out of solidarity, she added, but also as an assertion of national sovereignty.
A Friend… A Patriot
During the religious service, loved ones and friends paid tribute to Samcam, highlighting his virtues and the many reasons why he will be remembered.
Father Aragón described Samcam as “a gentleman—truthful, consistent, honorable, and faithful. Always on time… open to dialogue. He acknowledged his mistakes and tried to correct them in order to improve.”
He catalogued him as “an example of how to rise above differences and the plurality of opinions or missteps among ourselves, and to seek ways to unite criteria and coordinate actions that help us confront the real problems we face in Nicaragua—an obligation we must assume in the wake of Roberto’s death.”
He also described him as respectful of differences and a humanist. “When someone leaves a group or a project, they often leave resentful. Not Roberto. He never sought to undermine the work of former colleagues. He respected differences without breaking friendships. He was a man of his word and a brilliant analyst in constant pursuit of objective truth, a truth that inspired a deep sense of duty—and that ultimately led to his death.”
His son Gabriel described him as “a tireless essayist; a great political commentator,” whose activism and moral firmness forced him into exile in 2018, when he received clear threats against his life. “Soon after, our house was vandalized. Since before I was born, he was already denouncing corruption, injustices and abuses of power,” he recalled.
In the pulpit, in front of the congregation, Gabriel Samcam said he remembered the interviews his father gave, his weekly columns, his radio program, “that my brother and I listened to on the way to English classes. Every Saturday, without exception. They all started with the song ‘Yo te amo, Nicaragua’ (I love you, Nicaragua). That song was not just an introduction… it was a declaration of love for his homeland, and a longing for Nicaragua to one day be free again.”
He said his father will be remembered for his joy, humility, and commitment to others. “He was a man of firm convictions, who never acted against his principles. He embodies the kind of integrity the world needs: someone willing to do the right thing, regardless of the consequences.”
He recalled that when someone once asked Samcam whether he would ever walk away from activism to protect his life, he answered: “No person—no government—can take away my right to speak for my people.”
“As we say goodbye to Roberto—father, grandfather, brother, uncle, friend, teacher, mentor—let us remember him for who he truly was: a loving father, a thoughtful husband, a loyal friend, and a man who lived with great strength and deep faith. He taught us that dignity and integrity are non-negotiable, that the truth must not be silenced, and that justice is always worth fighting for,” he concluded.
In a ceremony where he was also remembered by figures from the Nicaraguan exile and press community, Samcam was laid to rest in the mausoleum of the Casa de España in San José, Costa Rica—“where he belongs, as a Spanish citizen. But we hope that one day, he’ll return to Nicaragua—when it becomes a republic again. We will never forget him, and we will not give up,” his son promised.
