Nicas Pay or Ask Forgiveness to Return to Their Country
They demand thousands of dollars from Nicaraguans who are banned from returning to the country, while others are forced to “ask forgiveness,” in writing, from Rosario Murillo.
By Ivan Olivares (Confidencial)
HAVANA TIMES – Paying thousands of dollars or writing a letter asking Rosario Murillo for forgiveness are the two —not always successful— options that some Nicaraguans have been forced to take in order to try to return to Nicaragua, after the dictatorship prohibited their entry. Since 2024, more and more Nicaraguans who travel abroad do so with the doubt of whether they will be allowed to reenter their homeland.
At the beginning, the “entry ban” was only a threat against well-known opposition leaders, but nowadays anyone can be prevented from returning to Nicaragua. It is enough to post something uncomfortable on social media, or for someone within the regime to think the person has money to pay.
The result is that between January 2024 and February 2025, at least 349 Nicaraguans were victims of “migration repression,” according to a report from Monitoreo Azul y Blanco. The number is undoubtedly much higher, since many do not report for fear of further reprisals.
The actions of “migration repression” include exile, denial of passport renewals, and bans on leaving or entering Nicaragua. Of the reported cases, 290 are de facto exiles or entry bans. Sixty-four percent of cases are men and 36% women. The monitoring group also reported six minors among the victims.
The UN’s Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (GHREN) has also detailed how the chain of command operates in deciding the refusals of entry against citizens the dictatorship deems “a threat to national sovereignty and society.”
CONFIDENCIAL spoke with four Nicaraguans victimized by this practice. In two cases the “entry ban” was solved with a payment, while the other two cannot return to the country, despite one woman writing a letter to “co-president” Rosario Murillo asking forgiveness and begging to be allowed back to her homeland.
Federico Will Not Leave Again
Federico left Nicaragua in mid-2024 for the United States to visit family living in a southern city. After staying several months, he bought a ticket to return to Managua. When he tried to use it in early 2025, he received an email from the airline bluntly stating he was not “eligible” to enter the country.
No further reasons were given, nor any proof provided. Despite being a Nicaraguan citizen with full rights, the only communication was that “informal email.” Just a single sentence, with no legal argument or court ruling.
After the initial alarm, his family in Nicaragua sought help. Through relatives, they found a lawyer with government connections, who asked for time and money to ”solicit” the permit.
“The one who decides that in Nicaragua is Chayo (Rosario Murillo). The law is useless,” Federico reflected under the safety of anonymity. He was lucky to find that lawyer thanks to “a friend of a friend.”
“Everybody knows everybody in our towns and cities,” he added.
Following the lawyer’s advice, he didn’t share all details, not even with his family, fearing a leak that could identify him and trigger new reprisals. After several months, he got the good news: there was no longer an objection to his return. The airline confirmed his ticket was valid, and he returned home.
In the end, despite relatives suggesting he sell everything in Nicaragua and move to the US, Federico decided not to leave again. Even though the payment supposedly resolved his situation permanently, he prefers not to travel anymore.
Estelita Was Left with the Merchandise
Estelita traveled to Miami to buy supplies for her small business. She visited shops she knew, purchased merchandise with demand back home, went sightseeing, and visited friends. But when it came time to return, an email brought unexpected news: she was denied reentry to Nicaragua.
She was left with the ticket and the purchases in Miami.
She then contacted family members with government connections. After several days and a transfer of more than $2,500, she was informed that the doors were open again, and she returned to Nicaragua.
Back to her business and family, she decided to postpone any future trips abroad. Even though she’d like to return to the shops she knows, she cannot be sure she’ll be allowed back into the country. She has chosen to work and live only with what is available locally.
Asked why she was denied reentry, she can only say she doesn’t know. She never engaged in politics nor expressed views against the regime. She can only guess it might have been due to a Facebook post where she posed with a blue-and-white flag.
Francisco Didn’t Pay the Scammer
Like Estelita, Francisco is also a merchant, but he has lived in the US for many years, from where he sends goods to Nicaragua. Without warning, he was told he could not enter the country.
After the initial shock, he sought alternatives until he met the son of a Sandinista deputy in western Nicaragua. The young man offered a “solution”: Francisco could return if he made a financial contribution to the local political secretary of the ruling party. He was told that even after paying, he would need to wait weeks for authorization.
Before sending money, Francisco consulted a friend who knew the deputy’s son. His friend’s advice was blunt: “Don’t give him anything. He owes money to everyone and is always looking to scam people. Even though his father is a deputy, don’t believe him. He won’t solve anything. Don’t waste your time; he doesn’t have the connections or power to get you an entry permit.”
Desperate, Francisco tried another route: he wrote to Nicaragua’s Foreign Ministry but never received a reply or a solution. With no political ties or activism, he still doesn’t understand why he was barred from entering. For now, a family member manages the local business.
Juanita Had to Ask Forgiveness
Juanita left Nicaragua for Texas in mid-2023 for medical checkups. She had previously traveled abroad for work and returned without issues. On this trip, after three weeks, she went to board her flight back —only to be told by the airline, without explanation, that she could not board.
Frustrated but determined, she bought another ticket with a different airline, thinking it was a mistake. But the same happened: she was barred again. This second airline sent her a clearer email: Nicaraguan authorities would not allow her entry.
Seeking solutions, an acquaintance suggested she write a personal letter to Rosario Murillo, asking forgiveness for having participated in the 2018 protests. She did. With pain and shame, but she did. Yet nothing changed. She never received a response. Inevitably, she lost her job in Nicaragua and now lives separated from her family.
Why Ask Forgiveness?
Jhoswel Martínez, president of the Intercultural Association for Human Rights (Asidehu), an organization in Costa Rica defending migrants’ rights, said he knows of many asylum seekers in Europe, facing deportation to Nicaragua, who received the same advice: send a letter asking forgiveness to Mrs. Murillo.
“They are usually advised to promise never to commit criminal or terrorist acts again, to try to guarantee a safe return and avoid problems when they go home,” Martinez explained.
Beyond being humiliating, the advocate noted that requiring such a letter, just as preventing safe return, violates a series of rights enshrined in the Constitution—“not the current illegitimate one, but the one from 2008.”
He stressed that in a Nicaragua with the rule of law, “we would be talking about administrative proceedings leading to dismissal, and criminal charges for preventing citizens’ entry and enjoyment of freedoms, because what they are effectively doing is dictating civil death for these citizens.”
First published in Spanish by Confidencial and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.