Interior Minister Mar\u00eda Amelia Coronel defended the Ortega\u2013Murillo dictatorship\u2019s policy of denying entry into the country to both Nicaraguans and foreigners, arguing that the regime has the \u201clegal authority\u201d to do so and that it is a matter of \u201cnational security.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
\u201cWe do it, above all, because we have the legal authority to do so and, most importantly, to protect national sovereignty and our citizen security, which are the top priorities for the Interior Ministry and for all of Nicaragua,\u201d she said in an interview with the pro-government channel TN8. <\/p>\n\n
According to Coronel, the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo will continue denying entry to anyone they deem a risk to the country\u2019s \u201cpeace.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
The regime, according to the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (GHREN), has denied entry to 318 Nicaraguans between June 2018 and August 2025\u2014among them journalists, human rights defenders, relatives of opposition members, and other citizens. Several YouTubers have also publicly denounced the refusal to allow them into Nicaragua. <\/p>\n\n
\u201cWe, like all countries,\u201d the official added, \u201care sovereign, and Nicaragua reserves the right of admission in various cases related especially to national security, public order, and crime prevention.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
Entry bans increased after the mass expulsion of 222 political prisoners to the United States in February 2023 and, according to GHREN, form part of a \u201cbroader pattern of serious and systematic violations of the right to freedom of movement and to freely choose one\u2019s residence.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
\u201cWe are going after organized crime, after terrorism, and after any action by any person that threatens our peace and security, which have cost us so much (\u2026) This isn\u2019t easy to do, and it may be controversial or not\u2014whatever people want to say\u2014but we\u2019re doing it right and working as we should so that we remain calm and at peace,\u201d Coronel insisted. <\/p>\n\n
However, GHREN\u2019s report Nicaragua: Persecution Beyond Borders documents an immigration-control system used for political purposes. According to the report, the Immigration and Foreign Citizens Office of the Interior Ministry maintains an internal list of individuals considered a \u201cthreat\u201d to the dictatorship, fed by information gathered through the state intelligence structure and data obtained from social media. <\/p>\n\n
According to GHREN, entry bans are decided by the Vice Minister of the Interior\u2014who is also the national administrative secretary of the FSLN\u2014after consultation with the \u201cco-dictator\u201d Rosario Murillo, and then communicated to airlines and transportation companies.<\/p>\n\n
The Group believes the true number is even higher, since many victims do not report their cases out of fear of reprisals against relatives still in Nicaragua. Those affected include relatives of expelled or denationalized individuals, Catholic and other religious leaders, journalists, media workers, and professionals previously subjected to harassment. <\/p>\n\n
Furthermore, GHREN warns that entry bans are often accompanied by other pressure tactics, such as denying passport renewals, withholding basic civil registry documents, or even confiscating property and pensions.<\/p>\n\n