Nicaragua Closed 2024 with 3 Journalists Jailed, 283 Exiled
According to a survey of journalists and media directors at least 52 journalists abandoned the profession in 2024 alone.
HAVANA TIMES – Nicaragua closed out 2024 with three Nicaraguan journalists in prison while another 283 others are no longer in the country – either banished or forced to flee into exile for security reasons. The total numbers were part of a report released Monday by the Fundación por la Libertad de Expresión y Democracia [“Foundation for Freedom of Expression and Democracy”] or (FLED), which is part of the regional network “Voices of the South” [Voces del Sur].
The report, entitled “Independent press in Nicaragua 2024: Resilience and Courage in the face of State Repression,” also notes that at least 52 Nicaraguan journalists abandoned the profession for security reasons this year.
The report, which is an annual summary of 2024, documents the arrest of feminist journalist Fabiola Tercero, who was abducted by police on July 12. Since then, “her whereabouts and state of health are unknown, which generates deep concern both in the profession and in the international community.”
The organization also reported the arrest of journalist Elsbeth D’Anda, director of the program La Cobertura broadcast on Nicaraguan television Channel 23. D’Anda was arrested by the National Police last October, after criticizing on his program the high cost of living in Nicaragua. Also arrested and imprisoned is Leo Catalino Carcamo, 61, who was detained “in a violent manner” in Leon by the Police, according to the report.
Banishments and exiles
The study highlighted the banishment of Henry Briceño, a journalist, businessman and member of the Nicaraguan opposition, along with his entire family of four, including a minor. Like the case of Leo Carcamo, Briceño was detained “in a violent way.” He was expelled to Costa Rica with his family at the end of November, following which the authorities confiscated the four properties they owned, among them a hostel, a motel and a nursery, the organization stated.
FLED documented the forced banishment of a total of five journalists in 2024 – two violently expelled, while three others were denied reentry into the country after traveling abroad for work.
Forty-six other journalists were forced to seek exile in 2024 to safeguard their lives and those of their families, according to the report. “Between 2018 and the close of this year [2024], the total number of exiled journalists grew to 283,” it specified.
Abandoning the profession
The organization also noted with concern that in 2024, “a considerable number of [communications] professionals abandoned the exercise of journalism to dedicate themselves to other economic activities with the objective of guaranteeing the support of their families” and their safety.
A FLED inquiry of journalists and media directors counted at least 52 journalists who had left the profession. “This phenomenon is the result of multiple reasons, among them the growing unemployment in the sector, the low salaries, the high degree of danger associated with the profession, the closure of news media outlets and spaces, and the desire to implement small business alternatives as an alternative for subsistence,” the report specified.
In 2024, FLED registered a total of 81 press freedom violations, a number that was slightly lower than in 2023, “but whose lessening doesn’t imply an improvement in conditions for the press, but an increase in self-censorship among the victims. This means that many journalists and media outlets have opted not to denounce the aggressions, in order to minimize the personal risks that doing so would imply,” the text explained.
Between 2018 and 2023, at least 54 media outlets were shuttered, among them five that were raided and later had their properties and equipment confiscated. These included the newspaper La Prensa, Confidencial, 100% Noticias, and La Trinchera de la Noticia.