Miami (September 15, 2026) – The Inter American Press Association (IAPA) expresses its deep concern over the detention in Florida of Nicaraguan journalist Luis Galeano, director of the Café con Voz program. The organization urged U.S. authorities to guarantee his due process, access to legal counsel, and protection from potential deportation.
Galeano, 48, was detained on September 14 by agents of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Orlando while working as an Uber driver. The journalist was later taken to a police station, where he was able to contact his wife so that she could reach out to an attorney, according to press reports.
The journalist left Nicaragua in December 2018 after a Managua judge issued an arrest warrant for him. Galeano applied for political asylum in 2019. In February 2023, the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo stripped him of his nationality and confiscated his property, along with that of other government critics. From exile, he continued working as a journalist and hosting Café con Voz. Galeano worked for the newspaper El Nuevo Diario, which was shut down in 2019. He also worked as a reporter for the EFE news agency in Nicaragua.
A hearing to review Galeano’s case is scheduled for October 2, according to his wife, Deykell Santamaría, who confirmed the date to 100% Noticias.
The IAPA President Pierre Manigault said: “The detention of Luis Galeano demands a response that takes into account his status as a persecuted and exiled journalist. The United States must guarantee him a fair and transparent process and, above all, ensure that he is not deported. Defending press freedom requires that these circumstances be taken into consideration,” added Manigault, of Evening Post Publishing Inc., in Charleston, South Carolina, United States.
The IAPA Committee on Freedom of the Press and Information Chair Martha Ramos added: “Luis Galeano was persecuted, stripped of his nationality, and forced into exile for exercising his right to inform. Deportation could expose him to the risks that precisely forced him to flee. Authorities must take this situation into consideration and guarantee his protection, access to legal counsel, and full respect for his rights.”
“IAPA will continue to monitor the case, and we reiterate that protecting journalists persecuted for their work is a responsibility that transcends borders. Persecution, forced displacement, and exile have contributed to a sustained deterioration of freedom of expression throughout the Americas,” Ramos, of Organización Editorial Mexicana (OEM), emphasized.
According to IAPA reports, Nicaragua has become one of the most serious environments for the exercise of press freedom in the region. The organization has documented systematic persecution of independent journalists, the closure and confiscation of media outlets, and the forced exile of journalists.
The IAPA is a non-profit organization dedicated to defending and promoting freedom of the press and expression in the Americas. It comprises more than 1,300 publications from the western hemisphere and is based in Miami, Florida, United States.
