The Nicaraguan Dictatorship Understands Economic Sanctions
Activists in Sweden demand Nicaragua’s exclusion from the European Union–Central America Association Agreement, over violations of democracy.
HAVANA TIMES – Nicaraguan activists Anexa Cunningham and Silvio Prado recommended before the Swedish Parliament that it work in favor of strong economic sanctions and international condemnations against the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo in Nicaragua.
The activists agreed that there must be strong condemnations for the missing political prisoners and for the repression in Nicaragua, combined with strong economic sanctions, which — they said — is a language the dictatorship understands. They stressed that these should be real and broad sanctions, not merely aimed at a few individuals.
In particular, they called for Nicaragua’s exclusion from the Association Agreement between the European Union and Central America, due to violations of the democratic clause. “A regime that implements a systematic policy of forced disappearance of its citizens — which includes killings under police custody — cannot be part of an agreement that has a democratic clause as a condition,” said sociologist and municipal development specialist Silvio Prado in a later communication with CONFIDENCIAL.
Anexa Cunningham and Silvio Prado visited the Swedish Parliament between November 3 and 6, 2025. Cunningham is a lawyer, originally from the Miskito people of Nicaragua’s Caribbean Coast, and chair of the United Nations mechanism for the rights of Indigenous peoples. Prado is a sociologist specializing in civil society and municipal development.
Both were invited by the Swedish Association for Democracy and Human Rights in Nicaragua (NicaDem). The invitation was also supported by the educational arm of the Swedish labor movement (ABF), CARITAS Sweden, and the NGOs Diakonia and Civil Rights Defenders.
“Nicaragua, the forgotten dictatorship”
The grey, somewhat cold Swedish autumn was no obstacle for an intense and varied program that began with a civil society conference coordinated by Amnesty International. During the visit, they also met with officials from Sweden’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with a group of Swedish parliamentarians. In addition, two public events were organized — both with strong attendance — in the city of Stockholm, under the theme “Nicaragua: The Forgotten Dictatorship.”
The purpose of the visit was to provide updated information on the situation in Nicaragua and to promote concrete solidarity actions. The activists emphasized three specific areas: the severe repression against Indigenous peoples and its causes; the situation of civil society; and the new forms of repression by the dictatorship.
The systematic brutality against Indigenous peoples surprised many participants. Some recalled the positive steps taken by the Sandinista government in 1987 with the Autonomy Law.
“Since then everything has gone backwards; nothing remains of that law. The dictatorship respects absolutely none of our rights. They want to crush us, they want to make us disappear as peoples. It is a policy of ethnocide,” said Cunningham, who is exiled and stripped of her Nicaraguan nationality.
Repression and forced disappearances exposed
Another topic that outraged many participants were the new forms of repression the dictatorship is using. Prado described the increase in the number of “missing” among the regime’s political prisoners.
“This represents yet another level of cruelty, for those detained and for their families. It must be stopped now, with strong international condemnations in every forum — it should be a priority task,” he said.
The dictatorship’s migration-related repression (not allowing citizens back to the country) and its transnational repression — including killings and growing insecurity among exiles due to transnational persecution — were also discussed.
First published in Spanish by Confidencial and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.