ICE Detains Exiled Nicaraguan Journalist Luis Galeano
Journalists and opponents of Daniel Ortega’s regime call for protection and respect for his US asylum process.
By Ivan Olivares (Confidencial)
HAVANA TIMES – Nicaraguan journalist Luis Galeano, director of Café con Voz, was detained on the morning of September 14th in Orlando, Florida, by agents of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
His wife, Deykel Santamaria, confirmed that Galeano was detained while working as an Uber driver, a ride-hailing service that connects passengers with drivers through an app. After being taken to a police station, the journalist was able to call her and ask her to contact his attorney and inform other journalists of his detention.
News of his detention prompted numerous reactions from members of Nicaragua’s opposition and journalism community. In particular, an exile who was among the 222 political prisoners flown to the United States on the “Freedom Flight” told CONFIDENCIAL that the US State Department had been informed, in the hope that it could help secure the journalist’s release.
Juan Sebastian Chamorro, spokesperson for the Monteverde Group, expressed solidarity with Galeano, his wife, and his family, saying, “Luis is a distinguished Nicaraguan journalist who has fought for freedom of expression, truth, and justice in Nicaragua.” If he were deported to Nicaragua, Chamorro warned, “his life would be at extreme risk.”
Chamorro, who is also an economist, added: “Luis is being politically persecuted, and he deserves to be admitted to the United States as a political refugee because of the risks he and his family would face if he were to return to Nicaragua.” He urged US authorities to take into account “Luis Galeano’s struggle, and that of his program, for freedom of expression—for the good of Nicaragua and for the good of his family.”
Felix Maradiaga, president of the Foundation for the Freedom of Nicaragua, said that he has reached out to the appropriate US authorities both personally and on behalf of the organization.
The request “urgently calls on the relevant authorities to give favorable consideration to his case, taking into account the persecution he has endured because of his work as an independent journalist confronting the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship.”
Galeano has an active asylum case that remains pending and has extensive “documentation substantiating that persecution.”
From exile, journalist Aníbal Toruño called on social media for “urgent attention and follow-up” regarding Galeano’s detention, noting that he “has an active asylum case in the United States.”
“We call for guarantees of due process, access to legal representation, and full respect for his rights,” Toruño said.
Medardo Mairena, a leader of Nicaragua’s rural movement, expressed his “solidarity and prayers during these very difficult moments for journalist Luis Galeano and his family.”
US Journalist Tiffany Roberts, who has worked extensively in Nicaragua, told the Department of Homeland Security that “it is important to protect this journalist. He is an important voice for freedom and has a legitimate asylum case. He should not be deported. On the contrary, put him before an immigration judge and grant him asylum.” She also called on US Representatives Maria Elvira Salazar and Mario Diaz-Balart, both of Latino heritage, to speak out about the case.