Nicaraguan Indigenous Leader Brooklyn Rivera Dies at 73 While in Government Custody

Brooklyn Rivera, a 73-year-old leader of Nicaragua’s Miskito people, died in state custody after nearly three years of detention. The Nicaraguan government stated Sunday that a bacterial infection linked to COVID-19 caused his physical and neurological decline. Rivera was imprisoned in September 2023 after slipping back into the country following a ban on his return.

N. forum on Indigenous people and was arrested upon re-entry and accused of terrorism. Authorities provided no updates on his condition to his family or legal representatives before his death.

The government published photographs of Rivera in the hospital late last week showing him in critical condition. The government’s Sunday statement referred to Rivera as “Brother” and said officials were praying for him. S.

Government had called for his release on Friday after the hospital images appeared. N. group of experts on Nicaragua, said: “They took him alive, and after refusing to tell his family, his lawyer, the world anything about his fate, then they call him brother.

Human rights groups worldwide condemned the death and the government’s handling of the case. Rivera’s advocacy for the Miskito people began in the 1960s. He opposed the Sandinista government in the late 1970s, went into exile in Costa Rica in 1980, survived an attack by Sandinista forces, and later sought safety in Colombia.

In the late 1980s he founded Yatama, which helped secure limited autonomy for Indigenous people after peace negotiations. He helped establish the northeast coast autonomous region, an area rich in gold, silver and other minerals that the administration of co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo views as important for foreign investment.

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, including two in August 2025. Brody said Rivera spent 40 years fighting for his people and that the international community should pay attention.