The regime led by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo continued its severe attacks on press freedom during this period through a systematic practice that began after the restrictions on the 2018 protests. It includes arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances, forced exile of journalists, and institutionalized censorship.
Organizations such as the Foundation for Freedom of Expression and Democracy (FLED) and the Independent Journalists and Communicators of Nicaragua (PCIN) have documented these attacks against the independent press. Reports reveal that the government seeks to silence any critical voice through various strategies that violate fundamental human rights.
In the last quarter, through digital censorship, the government has blocked websites of media outlets operating in exile and using the .ni domain, managed by the National University of Engineering (UNI).
During this period, FLED documented 13 severe violations against the independent press. Most of these cases involved arbitrary arrests and violent exiles. The stigmatizing rhetoric of public officials was used to discredit critical journalists.
These cases include the arbitrary detention of journalist Elsbeth D'Anda, who was arrested on October 27 after questioning price increases on basic goods. Also recorded in November was the violent arrest of retired journalist Leo Catalino Cárcamo and the forced exile of journalist Henry Briceño along with his family near the border with Costa Rica.
Between January 2024 and February 2025, the PCIN Observatory reported 78 additional attacks. These incidents include constant threats, direct intimidation, targeted cyberattacks, and abuse of power by the National Police in coordination with paramilitary groups and government supporters.
One of the most serious cases is the forced disappearance of journalist Fabiola Tercero, which occurred in July 2024. No official or clear responses have been received from the government regarding her situation. Until March 2025, the government is holding four journalists, two of them elderly.
Those arrested are Fabiola Tercero Castro, detained on July 12, 2024. Her whereabouts are unknown. In 2017, Tercero founded El Rincón de Fabi, a project to promote reading and culture among young people.
Elsbeth D'Anda was arrested on October 27, 2024, for allowing a call on her television program in which a citizen complained about the high cost of basic food. According to attorney José Antonio López, at least 20 police officers arrived at his home to arrest him.
Leo Catalino Cárcamo was arrested on November 22, 2024. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) requested that the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) extend the provisional measures in the case of Juan Sebastián Chamorro et al. vs. Nicaragua because his life is at risk.
Irving Guerrero was arrested on February 9, 2025, in León. Police accused him of illegally possessing weapons, but the organization Alertas Libertad de Prensa Nicaragua (Press Freedom Alerts Nicaragua) claimed that his arrest was in retaliation for his journalistic work.
The cumulative number of journalists—not including other media workers—who were forced into exile since the outbreak of the sociopolitical crisis reached 289 people as of December 2024, according to FLED statistics, while PCIN documented 283 as of February 2025. The most affected group continues to be journalists and reporters, representing 61.6 percent.
In 2024 alone, FLED documented that 46 journalists were forced into exile due to threats, harassment, and direct persecution. In addition, 77 journalists left the profession due to job and economic insecurity.
This phenomenon of forced exile, combined with violent banishments and arbitrary expulsions, has affected not only journalists but also their families.
Between October 2024 and March 2025, 28 journalists left the profession, according to the FLED. This economic insecurity leads to self-censorship. Many retired journalists choose not to report attacks for fear of further reprisals against themselves or their families.
The country is becoming a vast "news desert." According to the FLED, by the end of 2024, 10 departments will be without independent journalistic coverage. These departments are Carazo, Chontales, Jinotega, Madriz, Nueva Segovia, Granada, Río San Juan, León, and the autonomous regions of the North and South Caribbean. In these territories, official media monopolize and control the news space.
The most recent government attack was blocking the .ni domains of at least four media outlets. On March 14, La Prensa reported that the regime blocked its domain and those of 100% Noticias, Confidencial, and Onda Local. The .ni domains are managed by the National University of Engineering (UNI), an entity under the regime's control.
