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The regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo released a photograph and video of political prisoner Angélica Chavarría Altamirano, former partner of late retired Army General Humberto Ortega, who had been forcibly disappeared for the past two years.
A press release from the Ministry of the Interior (MINT), published on May 22, 2026, states that Chavarría is being held at the Women’s Penitentiary Center “for reasons previously explained.” However, during the two years she has been detained, authorities have never disclosed the reasons for her arrest.
“During this time (since my detention), I have been treated with dignity and respect by the authorities,” Chavarría says in the video, where it is evident that she is reading from a prepared statement.
In the video, the political prisoner continues reading: “Every week I receive visits from my mother and my sister, as well as packages from them. Every day I receive meals, snacks, and personal hygiene supplies from the penitentiary system.”
“I am in good health. Every day I receive medical care, specialized attention, examinations, and medication. Every day I go out into the garden to get some sun. I have a television and watch different programs to distract myself,” Chavarría concludes.
Two years in enforced disappearance
The proof of life of Angélica Chavarría came two days after the political prisoner marked two years in a state of forced disappearance. Her relatives reported that on multiple occasions police denied them information about her whereabouts and simply repeated: “Stop looking for her.”
“The police have harassed family members and threatened them to stop searching and stop asking about her. If they do not have her or refuse to provide information, why threaten the family so they stop looking for her?” questioned lawyer Yader Valdivia, a member of the human rights group Nicaragua Nunca Más.
Chavarría Altamirano was arrested by state agents on May 19, 2024, during a police operation carried out against retired General Humberto Ortega Saavedra, brother of Daniel Ortega, after the former military chief gave interviews critical of Rosario Murillo and questioned the country’s political direction.
Since then, the regime had kept the political prisoner’s whereabouts hidden and provided no details about the conditions of her detention.
Chavarría Altamirano is one of 47 people – and one of only three women – recognized as political prisoners in Nicaragua, according to data from the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners.
The complete lack of official information about her situation first led the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) and later the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) to intervene urgently.
Both bodies concluded that the Nicaraguan State not only failed in its obligation to disclose her whereabouts, but also ignored international requests to clarify her legal status and guarantee her physical integrity.
In June 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued provisional measures in favor of Angélica Chavarría and other detainees considered to be at “grave risk” due to their forced disappearances and arbitrary detentions.
