Nicaraguan Indigenous Leader Brooklyn Rivera, Convicted of Terrorism, Dies in Prison at 73

Nicaraguan authorities confirmed that Brooklyn Rivera, 73, died in state custody on Sunday after nearly three years of detention. The government said a bacterial infection linked to COVID-19 caused his physical and neurological decline.

Rivera was arrested in September 2023 upon re-entering the country after a ban on his return. He had been convicted on charges that included terrorism, according to court proceedings referenced in multiple reports. Nicaraguan officials had previously barred him from re-entry following his participation in international forums on Indigenous issues.

The government released photographs of Rivera in the hospital late last week showing him in critical condition. In its statement announcing the death, authorities referred to him as “Brother” and said officials were praying for him. The statement provided the first public medical update on his condition.

No updates on Rivera’s health had been shared with his family or legal representatives prior to the photographs’ release, according to reports citing his representatives. On Friday, after the hospital images appeared, the UN Group of Experts on Nicaragua called for his release.

The government’s Sunday statement did not address the timing of medical disclosures. Rivera’s history includes opposition to the Sandinista government in the late 1970s, exile in Costa Rica in 1980, and survival of an attack by Sandinista forces. He later founded the Yatama organization in the late 1980s, which participated in peace negotiations that led to limited autonomy for Indigenous communities on Nicaragua’s northeast coast, an area noted for its mineral resources.

The UN Group of Experts has documented 124 cases of arbitrary detention of Indigenous people in Nicaragua since 2018 and 46 deaths following violent incidents, usually clashes with settlers. At least six political prisoners have died in custody since 2019, two of them in August 2025.

A spokesperson for the group noted that Rivera had spent 40 years fighting for his people and urged the international community to pay attention.