Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera dies in Nicaragua after nearly 3 years of detention

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Brooklyn Rivera, a renowned Indigenous leader from Nicaragua who spent years fighting for the rights of his community and was imprisoned by the government in September 2023, has died.

The Nicaraguan government issued a statement Sunday alleging that Rivera died after a bacteria stemming from the COVID-19 virus led to his physical and neurological deterioration.

Human rights activists and groups worldwide denounced his death and a statement that the government released Saturday in which they referred to Rivera as “Brother” and said they were praying for him.

“They took him alive, and after refusing to tell his family, his lawyer, the world anything about his fate, then they call him brother,” said Reed Brody, an American human rights lawyer and member of a group of U.N. experts on Nicaragua. “Unconscionable cynicism on the part of the government to make it seem like they were trying to help him.”

Rivera led the Miskito people, who live along Nicaragua’s northeast coast and have long fought to retain their lands.

For decades, he fought the ruling Sandinista government and helped establish the area along the northeast coast as an autonomous region. It is rich in gold, silver and other resources, and it is considered a key area for the administration of co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo to attract foreign investment.