New York, October 28, 2026 (Press Release)
The most recent report of the United Nations Secretary-General on cooperation with the Organization and its human rights mechanisms (A/HRC/63/62) documents the persistence of acts of intimidation and reprisals against Félix Alejandro Maradiaga, Nicaraguan academic, former political prisoner and President of the World Liberty Congress (WLC), the largest global network of pro-democracy dissidents. His case illustrates the reach of Nicaragua’s repression beyond its borders.
According to information received by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Maradiaga continues to be the target of a “campaign of vilification” disseminated through media outlets and social media accounts aligned with the Nicaraguan State. The report records “surveillance, unusual approaches by unknown individuals and suspicious telephone calls in the United States. His relatives in Nicaragua have also continued to face, according to the information received, surveillance, unjustified police summonses and unannounced visits during which they are questioned about his whereabouts and activities.”
The WLC expresses particular concern about the risks that this pattern of harassment poses to the life and personal integrity of Maradiaga. The combination of surveillance, intimidation and defamation campaigns, in a context of violence against exiled opposition figures, demands preventive attention and effective protective measures for him and his family.
Maradiaga addressed the United Nations Security Council on September 5, 2018, when he warned that violent repression in Nicaragua threatened the peace and security of all of Central America. He described attacks against peaceful demonstrators, the criminalization of civic protest and threats against his own life. He called for international monitoring mechanisms, the disarmament of paramilitary groups and support for restoring the rule of law. His testimony brought the experiences of victims and civil society directly before the Council.
His international work has also included denunciations of the Sandinista regime’s ties with Russia, China and Iran. In Nicaragua, his work focused on training civic leaders and promoting cooperation among democratic organizations. These efforts form part of his sustained commitment to peaceful democratic change and international solidarity in the face of authoritarianism.
Maradiaga was arrested on June 8, 2021, shortly after winning the presidential nomination of the Blue and White National Unity, a broad opposition coalition in Nicaragua. His detention took place amid a repressive offensive against opposition presidential aspirants ahead of that year’s elections.
The Secretary-General’s report links Maradiaga’s subsequent sentencing to 13 years in prison to his 2018 intervention before the Security Council and recalls that the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention determined his detention to be arbitrary. Following his expulsion to the United States in 2023, he was arbitrarily stripped of his nationality and his records were deleted from the Civil Registry.
The violence against Nicaraguans in exile underscores the urgency of providing them protection. Retired Army captain and open critic of the regime Roberto Samcam was murdered in his home in Costa Rica on June 19, 2025. The United Nations Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua condemned the crime. His death joined other attacks against exiled opposition figures, among them the January 2024 shooting attack against Joao Maldonado, who survived. These events have deepened fear among Nicaraguans who sought refuge abroad.
The WLC pays particular attention to transnational repression because it directly affects the security and capacity for action of the dissidents who make up its network. For the organization, protecting those who continue to defend democracy from exile is a priority that requires international cooperation, early-warning mechanisms and accountability.
The experience of its former president, Iranian journalist and activist Masih Alinejad, demonstrates the gravity of these threats. Alinejad was the target of a plot to assassinate her in the United States at the direction of the Government of Iran, which led to a federal criminal prosecution in New York. Two of the participants, Rafat Amirov and Polad Omarov, were found guilty in March 2025 and sentenced in October of that year to 25 years in prison each. This precedent reinforces the need to take threats against dissidents seriously and to act before they become irreparable attacks.
For the WLC, the repeated inclusion of Maradiaga’s case in the reports of the UN Secretary-General underscores the gravity and persistence of the threats he faces. The WLC values the sustained attention of the United Nations and demands a clear and consistent international response: effective protection for threatened exiles, thorough investigations of attacks and accountability for those responsible. Exile must not become another arena in which authoritarian governments intimidate their critics and silence the defense of human rights.
