Nicaraguan Dictatorship Justifies Selective Entry Bans
citing “National Security”
Interior Minister claims the repressive policy applied to hundreds of Nicaraguans and foreigners is “legal” and meant to preserve “peace”
HAVANA TIMES – Interior Minister María Amelia Coronel defended the Ortega–Murillo dictatorship’s policy of denying entry into the country to both Nicaraguans and foreigners, arguing that the regime has the “legal authority” to do so and that it is a matter of “national security.”
“We do it, above all, because we have the legal authority to do so and, most importantly, to protect national sovereignty and our citizen security, which are the top priorities for the Interior Ministry and for all of Nicaragua,” she said in an interview with the pro-government channel TN8.
According to Coronel, the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo will continue denying entry to anyone they deem a risk to the country’s “peace.”
Exile and Entry Bans
The regime, according to the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua (GHREN), has denied entry to 318 Nicaraguans between June 2018 and August 2025—among them journalists, human rights defenders, relatives of opposition members, and other citizens. Several YouTubers have also publicly denounced the refusal to allow them into Nicaragua.
“We, like all countries,” the official added, “are sovereign, and Nicaragua reserves the right of admission in various cases related especially to national security, public order, and crime prevention.”
Regime Uses the Banner of “Peace”
Entry bans increased after the mass expulsion of 222 political prisoners to the United States in February 2023 and, according to GHREN, form part of a “broader pattern of serious and systematic violations of the right to freedom of movement and to freely choose one’s residence.”
“We are going after organized crime, after terrorism, and after any action by any person that threatens our peace and security, which have cost us so much (…) This isn’t easy to do, and it may be controversial or not—whatever people want to say—but we’re doing it right and working as we should so that we remain calm and at peace,” Coronel insisted.
However, GHREN’s report Nicaragua: Persecution Beyond Borders documents an immigration-control system used for political purposes. According to the report, the Immigration and Foreign Citizens Office of the Interior Ministry maintains an internal list of individuals considered a “threat” to the dictatorship, fed by information gathered through the state intelligence structure and data obtained from social media.
According to GHREN, entry bans are decided by the Vice Minister of the Interior—who is also the national administrative secretary of the FSLN—after consultation with the “co-dictator” Rosario Murillo, and then communicated to airlines and transportation companies.
The Real Number May Be Higher
The Group believes the true number is even higher, since many victims do not report their cases out of fear of reprisals against relatives still in Nicaragua. Those affected include relatives of expelled or denationalized individuals, Catholic and other religious leaders, journalists, media workers, and professionals previously subjected to harassment.
Furthermore, GHREN warns that entry bans are often accompanied by other pressure tactics, such as denying passport renewals, withholding basic civil registry documents, or even confiscating property and pensions.
In September 2025, CONFIDENCIAL reported that Nicaraguans who are denied entry must pay thousands of dollars or write a letter asking Rosario Murillo for forgiveness in order to attempt to return to Nicaragua after the dictatorship has barred their entry.