In 2024, according to data, more than 11% of Nicaraguans live in exile due to political repression after the 2018 crisis. Here are some accounts, stories, and their struggle to return, as well as their resistance from the diaspora.
Denied Rights in Latin America
A country where terror reigns and crime governs. This is how those who have been forced to leave describe their homeland. Nicaragua, the country that once saw them born, has become a desert of thorns, in the words of those living in exile today. These heartbreaking and intimate stories echo the recent history of a fragmented nation.
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María Alejandra Herrera, 28, recounts from Spain the emptiness she feels: «It’s like being in infertile land, trying to take root, but this is not your land. I relate to a painting by Frida Kahlo: I’m full of thorns and before me, there’s only desert.»
María Alejandra fled after defending her medical thesis. Her mother, a doctor, had closed her clinic twice due to the regime’s siege. Her father, a Catholic deacon, was also under constant surveillance. “They took pictures of us, neighbors provided information about us. We endured until we couldn’t anymore: it was either life or freedom,” she recalls.
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Alejandro Vélez, a lawyer, describes his capture in May 2022: “They arrived with three patrol cars at my office. They took me to a judicial complex where I was accused of cybercrime and treason. It was a swift trial.” The persecution extended to his family: an agent monitored his house, and his younger son lived under constant harassment. “The most painful part is the family fragmentation. On special dates like December, nostalgia arises, and the distance hurts more than ever.”
Nicaraguan exiles: the struggle for a lost homeland amid repression, hope, and unity
For many, the departure was abrupt and desperate. Alejandro describes how he managed to get six family members out of Nicaragua, using humanitarian alliances to ensure their safety. “You arrive in a country with only what you’re wearing. You had a profession, but here you work whatever job you can to survive. It’s starting from scratch.” New regime laws, which harshly punish opponents, continue to chase them even in exile. “They accuse you of cyberterrorism, and they close all doors. If you return, prison or something worse awaits you.”
María Alejandra observes similarities between the dictatorships of Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Syria, but laments the lack of unity among Nicaraguan exiles. “We lack commitment. We need to work on our strengths and not normalize repression. The Sandinista Front indoctrinated us since the 1980s, brainwashing us with songs and propaganda. It’s time to put a stop to it.”
Exiles denounce that the Ortega-Murillo regime seeks to perpetuate itself in power with a dynastic model similar to North Korea. “It’s a social experiment based on fear. Society is like the frog in boiling water: it no longer reacts,” reflects Alejandro.
Despite the pain, hopelessness is not absolute. “Dictatorships are not eternal,” insists María Alejandra. “There are bigger empires that have fallen. We can do it too.” The key, both agree, is unity and commitment. Every little bit counts in the struggle to reclaim their lost homeland.
From the United States, Spain, and other corners of the world, Nicaraguan exiles continue to raise their voices. They demand that the world listen and act, because the right to have a homeland is something that cannot continue to be denied.
In this video, we present the stories of those who have sought refuge in Costa Rica, the United States, and Spain, as well as their struggle to return to their land and live in freedom.
