Key facts
- Journalist Luis Galeano, who was stripped of his Nicaraguan citizenship for opposing the government, has been detained by ICE in Florida.
- Galeano arrived in the US in 2018 and has had an asylum application pending for about seven years.
- He was detained shortly after starting a second job driving for Lyft.
- Galeano is currently being held at the Krome detention center in Miami.
- His immigration court date is scheduled for October 2.
- Sociologist Javier Melendez stated that deporting Galeano to Nicaragua would be a death sentence.
Veteran journalist Luis Galeano, who was among at least 94 Nicaraguans stripped of their citizenship by the Ortega Murillo regime for opposing the government, has been detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Florida. Galeano, who continued to report on the Sandinista government online from the US since arriving in 2018, has had an asylum application pending for approximately seven years, according to his wife, Daykel Santamaría. He also possesses a work permit and a social security number.
ICE agents stopped Galeano shortly after he began his second job driving for Lyft on Monday morning. As of Wednesday, he was being held at the Krome detention center in Miami, with an immigration court date scheduled for October 2.
Javier Melendez, a sociologist and long-time friend of Galeano, stated that deporting the journalist to Nicaragua would be a death sentence. Melendez himself was also denaturalized by the Sandinista government and is now a US citizen. Other prominent Nicaraguans, including novelist Sergio Ramírez and poet Gioconda Belli, have also had their citizenship revoked.
Galeano fled Nicaragua in December 2018, days after police raided 100% Noticias, the news outlet where he worked, and issued an arrest warrant for him. He arrived in Miami shortly after and applied for asylum. His wife is unsure if he is effectively stateless due to a 2023 measure denaturalizing Nicaraguans.
Meanwhile, the House Foreign Affairs Committee held a hearing on "Confronting the Totalitarian Ortega-Murillo Regime." Committee chairperson Rep. María Elvira Salazar denounced the dismantling of democracy by Daniel Ortega and Rosa Murillo. Ana María Méndez Dardón of the Washington Office on Latin America described the situation as an example of "serious and profound contradictions" in US policy towards Nicaragua under the Trump administration, highlighting the disjunction between denouncing the regime and detaining a journalist targeted by it.
Salazar later issued a statement emphasizing the need to distinguish between criminals and political exiles. Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart also denounced Galeano's detention, calling for the US to uphold its tradition as a beacon of freedom. The Committee to Protect Journalists and the Inter American Press Association have called for Galeano's release.
Records indicate Galeano has been targeted for his reporting since at least February 23, 2011, when Amnesty International issued an urgent action bulletin warning of danger to his life after a threatening phone call related to his reporting on government misuse of funds. Recently, Galeano had expressed alarm about seeing ICE agents in Miami streets while driving for Lyft, according to Melendez. Galeano and his wife had discussed plans for such a scenario, including contacting their lawyer and alerting the media. Galeano reportedly told his wife he has faith the US government will recognize his asylum case as well-documented.