• ICE detained Nicaraguan journalist Luis Galeano in Florida
  • Nicaragua stripped Galeano of his nationality and declared him a “traitor to the homeland”
  • Opposition groups are urging US authorities to consider his political persecution

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained Nicaraguan journalist Luis Galeano, director of the opinion and debate program Café con Voz, in Florida on Monday. Galeano is a critic of Nicaragua’s government, led by President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo.

“Our director Luis Galeano has been detained by ICE,” Café con Voz, the platform Galeano operates with his wife, Deykell Santamaría, from exile in Miami, announced.

Why Could Returning to Nicaragua Put Luis Galeano at Risk?

Galeano, 48, was declared a “traitor to the homeland,” stripped of his Nicaraguan nationality, and had his assets seized by Nicaraguan authorities on February 15, 2023. The measures affected a group of 94 people that also included writers Sergio Ramírez and Gioconda Belli; Managua Auxiliary Bishop Silvio Báez; veteran human rights defender Vilma Núñez; journalist Carlos Fernando Chamorro; and former commander Luis Carrión.

His wife told journalists that Galeano was working as an Uber driver when he was detained and that he later called her from a police station in Orlando, Florida.

Luis Galeano Left Nicaragua in 2018

Galeano left Nicaragua in December 2018 after a Managua judge issued an arrest warrant for him, according to reports at the time. His departure occurred amid the social, political, and human rights crisis that had affected the country since April of that year.

Galeano previously worked for the now-defunct newspaper El Nuevo Diario and served as a correspondent for EFE’s Nicaraguan delegation from 2004 to 2006. He later broadcast his program on the 100% Noticias channel, which was raided by the National Police. The state-run Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Postal Services, known as Telcor, ordered subscription television providers to remove the channel from their lineups, and its offices were later seized.

Journalists and Opposition Groups Express Solidarity

Political organizations, journalists, and opposition figures in exile have expressed solidarity with Galeano and called for his release.

“We request that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement consider the situation of opposition journalist Luis Galeano. He is politically persecuted by the Sandinista dictatorship of Murillo-Ortega in Nicaragua. Our solidarity with Luis!” the Gran Confederación Opositora Nicaragüense posted on social media.

Nicaraguan opposition leader Juan Sebastián Chamorro said in an audio message sent to the media that Galeano “is a distinguished Nicaraguan journalist who has fought for freedom of expression, for truth, for justice in Nicaragua.” He also warned that “his life would be at extreme risk if he were deported to Nicaragua.”

“Luis is politically persecuted and deserves to be treated in the United States as a political asylum seeker. We call on the authorities to consider Luis Galeano’s fight for freedom of expression, for the good of Nicaragua and also for his family,” Chamorro said.

ICE Detains Luis Galeano as Nicaragua Faces Political Crisis

Nicaragua has experienced a political and social crisis since April 2018. The situation intensified following the disputed November 2021 general election, in which Ortega won a fifth term—his fourth consecutive one.

The election occurred while the main opposition candidates were imprisoned. Ortega’s government later expelled them from the country and stripped them of their nationality and political rights after accusing them of being “coup plotters” and “traitors to the homeland.”

Luis Galeano’s situation has drawn comparisons to that of Salvadoran journalist Mario Guevara, who was detained in 2025 and spent several months in ICE custody before being deported to El Salvador. Guevara, known for covering immigration operations, was arrested while reporting on a protest in Georgia. Although the criminal charges were dropped, his immigration proceedings continued until he was removed from the country.

In Galeano’s case, organizations and opposition figures warn that potential deportation to Nicaragua could pose a serious risk because of his criticism of the Ortega-Murillo government and the government’s decision to strip him of his Nicaraguan nationality in 2023.