SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) 鈥� , a renowned Indigenous leader from who spent years fighting for the rights of his community and was imprisoned by the government in September 2023, has died.
The Nicaraguan government issued a statement Sunday saying that Rivera died from a bacterial infection after his health had declined following a case of COVID-19, which led to his physical and neurological deterioration.
and groups worldwide denounced his death and a previous statement by the government in which they referred to Rivera as 鈥淏rother鈥� and said they were praying for him.
鈥淭hey took him alive, and after refusing to tell his family, his lawyer, the world anything about his fate, then they call him brother,鈥� said Reed Brody, an American human rights lawyer and member of a group of U.N. experts on Nicaragua. 鈥淯nconscionable cynicism on the part of the government to make it seem like they were trying to help him.鈥�
The U.S. had called for his release on Friday after the Nicaraguan government published photos of him in the hospital in critical condition.
The Argentina-based Inter-American Center for Legal Assistance in Human Rights also denounced Rivera鈥檚 death. Those responsible for the death of the Indigenous lawmaker “should be held criminally accountable,鈥� it wrote on X.
Albert R. Ramdin, secretary general of the Organization of American States, said he was 鈥渄eeply concerned鈥� about reports of Rivera’s death.
鈥淗is death demands an immediate, independent, and transparent investigation,鈥� Ramdin wrote Sunday on X. 鈥淭he rights to life, personal integrity, and due process must be guaranteed. My condolences to his family and the Miskito people. We continue to demand the unconditional release of all political prisoners unjustly detained by the Nicaraguan regime.鈥�
A fight for land and autonomy
Rivera led the Miskito people, who live along Nicaragua鈥檚 northeast coast and have long fought to retain their lands.
For decades, he fought the ruling Sandinista government and helped establish the area along the northeast coast as an autonomous region. It is rich in gold, silver and other resources, and it is considered a key area for the administration of to attract foreign investment.
Rivera鈥檚 fight for Nicaragua鈥檚 Indigenous people began in the 1960s. After opposing Ortega鈥檚 Sandinista鈥檚 government in the late 1970s, he temporarily went into exile in nearby Costa Rica in 1980.
He later returned to Nicaragua, where he survived an attack by Sandinista forces, forcing him once again to seek safety elsewhere, this time, in Colombia.
In the late 1980s, he founded the group known as Yatama, the Organization of the Peoples of Mother Earth. It played a key role in securing limited autonomy for Indigenous people following peace negotiations with the Sandinistas.
鈥淗e has been fighting in one way or another for their rights,鈥� Brody said. 鈥淗e fought for land, he fought for autonomy.鈥�
Nicaragua鈥檚 Indigenous people operated autonomously until they were annexed into the country in 1905.
鈥淪ince then, they have advocated for the recognition of their rights and for respect for their identity,鈥� stated a September 2024 report published by the group of U.N. experts.
It noted that since 2018, nearly a dozen lawyers have issued at least 25 deeds purporting to legalize the possession of Indigenous communal lands to non-Indigenous third parties. One deed dated Aug. 11, 2023 noted that 261 acres were sold by a non-Indigenous person for $61,000, according to the U.N. group.
The report quoted an unidentified Indigenous government official asserting that he was threatened by settlers when he visited communities to address complaints about land usurpation. He said that men armed with pistols and machetes approached him and said, 鈥淲e already have you on the list, we are going to kill you, because we are in charge here, the retired army officers.鈥�
First official sign of life since the 2023 arrest
In April 2023, Rivera traveled to Geneva to participate in a U.N. forum on Indigenous people, where he spoke out against the Nicaraguan government.
Shortly afterward, Ortega and Murillo banned him from returning to the country, but he slipped in anyway and lived in hiding until September 2023, when he was arrested and accused of terrorism.
鈥淣obody heard from him since then,鈥� Brody said, adding that he and other U.N. experts wrote the government requesting that it provide some sign of life. 鈥淭he government never gave any indication. He was a disappeared person.鈥�
It wasn鈥檛 until late last week that the government published pictures of Rivera in the hospital.
Condolences for Rivera poured in online, with one person writing on Facebook: “He was a father to our generation; he taught us, guided us, and led us with actions, not words.”
He noted that the U.N. group of experts has documented 124 cases of arbitrary detention of Indigenous people in Nicaragua since 2018, and 46 deaths following violence incidents.
Brody noted that at least six political prisoners have died in custody since 2019, including two last August.
鈥淏rooklyn Rivera spent 40 years fighting for his people,鈥� he said, 鈥渁nd hopefully the international community will finally pay attention.鈥�
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