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The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, described this Monday the dictatorship of Rosario Murillo and Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua as an "enemy of humanity" and announced visa restrictions against more than 100 Nicaraguan officials and their family members, in direct response to the death of opposition leader Brooklyn Rivera while in state custody.
“The Murillo-Ortega dictatorship is an enemy of humanity. The Trump administration will not ignore its crimes and brutality, including the dictatorship's singular role in the death of opposition leader Brooklyn Rivera,” wrote Rubio on his official X account.
The State Department specifically pointed out Lumberto Campbell Hooker —already sanctioned by Washington— as directly responsible for denying medical assistance to Rivera and preventing his family from burying his remains.
Rivera, 73 years old, was the president of the indigenous party YATAMA and a historical representative of the Miskito people from the Nicaraguan Caribbean Coast. He was arrested in Bilwi on September 29, 2023, and remained in custody for over 32 months until his death in late May.
On May 27, the Nicaraguan government itself had released images and a medical report showing a severe deterioration in his health, with pneumonia, liver cirrhosis, and severe neurological damage. In June, Amnesty International called for a "prompt, effective, and independent" investigation into his death.
With the new restrictions announced this Monday, the total number of Nicaraguan officials and their family members affected by visa restrictions imposed by Washington amounts to more than 2,350 people.
The measure was adopted under Presidential Proclamation 10309, which suspends the entry into the United States of members of the Nicaraguan government and those who formulate, implement, or benefit from policies that undermine democratic institutions.
This action is part of a sustained pattern of pressure from the Trump administration against the Nicaraguan regime.
In April 2025, Rubio had already imposed visa restrictions on more than 250 officials of the regime. In February 2026, Washington sanctioned the director of La Modelo prison. In April of this year, the Department of the Treasury sanctioned two of Ortega and Murillo's children, and Rubio announced sanctions against the deputy interior minister for serious human rights violations.
Human Rights Watch documented at least 87 political prisoners in Nicaragua in 2026 and six deaths in custody since 2019. According to the European Parliament, since 2018 over 450 individuals have been stripped of Nicaraguan nationality, more than 5,600 non-governmental organizations have been closed, and at least 58 media outlets have been shut down.
The State Department concluded its statement with a direct message to the Nicaraguan people: "The United States stands with the Nicaraguan people who, like Rivera, aspire to see a free Nicaragua."
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