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The European Parliament’s unanimous adoption of a resolution calling for accountability and the release of all political prisoners demonstrates that the Ortega-Murillo regime has no support in the body where Europe’s main political parties are represented. “Absolutely no one” voted against the resolution, said Thelma Brenes, daughter of retired Nicaraguan Army Colonel Carlos Brenes, who remains imprisoned.
“The dictatorship stands alone, and we saw that in the vote,” she said. No vote count was recorded because the resolution was approved unanimously, she added in an interview with the news program Esta Semana, which will air on Sunday, June 21, on CONFIDENCIAL’s YouTube channel, bypassing television censorship in Nicaragua.
On June 18, 2026, the European Parliament adopted a resolution urging that the regime in power in Nicaragua be held accountable for the violations committed since 2018, particularly where they “may constitute crimes against humanity.”
The resolution also calls for an end to the repression and for the suspension of the Association Agreement with Nicaragua.
Carlos Brenes and his wife, Salvadora Martínez, have been imprisoned since August 14, 2025. They were arrested without warrants, denied a valid trial, and are effectively being subjected to enforced disappearance, along with nine other political prisoners. The plight of these disappeared detainees sparked international alarm after the death of political prisoner Brooklyn Rivera in regime custody was confirmed, following more than two years and nine months without any information about his whereabouts.
Thelma Brenes, who has endured ten months of anguish, said Rivera’s death and the uncertainty it has created are “terrible for us.” Yet she draws strength from the solidarity of others and from families who have endured similar suffering for even longer. She pointed to the family of Steadman Fagot, “who has been living through this for nearly three years,” and the family of Jaime Navarrete, “who has been enduring it for almost eight.”
“For us, this is a constant agony. Every day, you wake up wondering what the regime is going to do next. The regime has a history of letting political prisoners die in jail. Brooklyn was not the first; he is the ninth prisoner to die in custody or shortly after being released. We constantly ask ourselves what will happen today. I’ve spoken with several relatives of political prisoners in recent weeks, and everyone is deeply worried,” she said.
Families Demand Proof of Life
Amid growing anguish over the fate and physical and mental condition of their loved ones, families of political prisoners are demanding proof that they are alive. They have been asking for months, and in some cases years, for such evidence, as though the regime were doing them a favor. “I want to remind the dictatorship that providing proof of life is the duty of the Nicaraguan state,” Brenes stressed.
In Nicaragua, there are no longer institutions such as the International Committee of the Red Cross or independent human rights organizations, and even the Catholic Church is unable to independently verify the condition of political prisoners.
According to Brenes, any proof of life must meet certain standards to be considered credible.
For the families, acceptable proof of life means that a close relative must be able to speak directly with the prisoner and learn about their physical and psychological condition. A non-negotiable requirement is that such communication take place freely—without intermediaries, without distant relatives brought in from who-knows-where, and without the presence of officials complicit with the regime.
“We saw the video of Angélica reading from a script, and the photos with relatives who are not close to them. Those are not independent or verifiable proofs of life. The dictatorship should know that the families of political prisoners will continue demanding, at the very least, independent and verifiable proof of life. We will keep denouncing the dictatorship until we see them back in their homes—free and without conditions,” she said.
The families are also closely watching what further action the international community may take. In Europe, one option would be to invoke the democratic clause of the Association Agreement signed between the European Union and Central America.
Doing so could include suspending the trade and tariff benefits Nicaragua receives under the agreement, adding to the 18% tariff imposed on Nicaraguan exports by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, one question continues to haunt the family of Carlos Brenes and Salvadora Martínez: Why him? Why her?
Thelma can only assume that her father—a former Sandinista guerrilla and founder
of the Patriotic Group of Retired Military Officers—is once again imprisoned “because he remained true to his values and because of his moral courage.” As for Salvadora, who “has always stayed far removed from politics,” Thelma believes she was targeted because “the state also blames families and seeks not only to punish prisoners, but their relatives and spouses as well.” The same, she noted, has happened to Angélica Chavarría.
In a letter she wrote to her father in late December 2025, Thelma spoke of the uncertainty she was living through because she had no information about him. In another letter, read before the European Parliament by MEP Maria Noichl, she delivered a different message: that they continue to stand by him.
“Dad, wherever you are, I want you to know this: we have not forgotten you. You are not alone. They may hide you behind prison walls, but they will never erase you from our lives. Nor will they destroy the legacy of your life.” The pressure to secure their release continues.
