In the dead of night in January, police knocked on José Alejandro Hurtado’s door in Managua with a simple explanation: someone had allegedly used his ID to rent a stolen car. He was asked to come down to the station for questioning—and was never seen again.
Hurtado, a 57-year-old computer engineer and longtime political activist, is one of at least 35 people human rights organizations say have been forcibly disappeared by Nicaragua’s authoritarian regime. Their detentions are neither acknowledged nor recorded. Their families are left in agonizing limbo—searching prisons, police stations, and morgues with no answers.
A New Era of Repression
Under the joint rule of President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo—effectively co-rulers since 2018—Nicaragua has systematically dismantled democratic institutions, shuttered independent media, and jailed or exiled virtually all political opposition. But the recent wave of enforced disappearances marks a chilling escalation.
According to human rights groups, nearly half of the 73 documented political prisoners in Nicaragua don’t appear in any public court records. No charges. No trials. No contact with lawyers or loved ones. In at least two cases, the disappeared have turned up dead.
Why Disappearances Matter
Enforced disappearances aren’t just a human rights violation—they’re a calculated tool of terror. By denying even the basic fact of detention, the state creates a climate of fear that paralyzes entire communities. Families are afraid to speak out. Neighbors stay silent. And dissent evaporates.
This tactic echoes some of the darkest chapters in Latin American history—Argentina’s “Dirty War,” Chile under Pinochet—where vanishing opponents was standard practice for dictatorships.
International Response
So far, global condemnation has been muted. While the United Nations and regional bodies like the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights have expressed alarm, concrete action remains limited. Meanwhile, inside Nicaragua, the silence grows louder.
