Nicaragua

An enormous concentration of power by the executive has allowed President Daniel Ortega’s government to commit egregious abuses against critics and opponents with complete impunity. In April 2018, massive anti-government protests broke out across Nicaragua. Police, in coordination with armed pro-government groups, brutally repressed protestors, killing hundreds, injuring several thousand, and arbitrarily detaining many. In the months since, the Nicaraguan government intensified its crackdown on civil society and the free press, stripping NGOs of their legal registration, shutting down media outlets, arresting journalists, and ending the mandates of several international organizations monitoring human rights.