The UN Human Rights Experts Group on Nicaragua (GHREN) presented a report to the Human Rights Council in Geneva yesterday, documenting for the first time the structural dimension of corruption within the Nicaraguan state: the systematic diversion of public funds to finance violent security operations and pro-government armed groups. The official GHREN publication on social media accompanied the presentation of the document to the international body.
The report, titled 'Nicaragua: UN Experts uncover corrupt financing of repression and spy network', establishes the connection between the diversion of funds, the parallel structure of the party, covert accounting, and systematic human rights violations. Jan-Michael Simon, president of GHREN, explained at a press conference that the document reveals "the operational logic of corrupt financing of violations."
"Our new report reveals a structural dimension of corruption in the Nicaraguan state, that is, corruption as a tool to finance political repression," stated Simon. The expert emphasized that "public funds intended for social assistance and operational expenses have been systematically diverted to support violent security operations and government-backed armed groups."
Reed Brody, another member of the group, was emphatic: "Repression is not improvised: it is structured and corruptly funded." Meanwhile, expert Ariela Peralta Distefano revealed that Nicaraguan diplomatic structures have been instrumentalized to track and intimidate citizens in exile, as part of a transnational espionage network that integrates the military, police, migration, telecommunications, and diplomatic missions to monitor, hack, and harass critics.
The GHREN concludes that these violations are systematic and constitute, prima facie, crimes against humanity, including murder, imprisonment, torture, forced deportation, and political persecution, in a pattern that has intensified since the protests of 2018. Simon noted that "repression and institutional corruption have become the method of governance under the control of the Ortega-Murillo family".
The repressive context has intensified with the constitutional reform of January 2025, which legalized and institutionalized paramilitary groups—termed "voluntary police" and "reserve military forces"—with more than 76,800 sworn members. These groups are the successors of the paramilitaries responsible for over 350 killings during the protests of 2018 and operate under the control of Rosario Murillo, indirectly financed with public funds.
Experts urge the international community to strengthen the protection of exiles, expedite asylum processes, and ensure accountability under international law. More than 342,000 Nicaraguans have applied for asylum abroad by mid-2025, reflecting the forced exodus caused by the systematic repression of the regime. Nicaragua withdrew from the UN Human Rights Council in February 2025 to evade international scrutiny and has not allowed access to international observers since 2018.
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