Nicaraguan Exile Deportee Re-Imprisoned After U.S. Deportation

A Nicaraguan exile, who was imprisoned and tortured for participating in anti-government protests, was deported by the United States and subsequently re-imprisoned by authorities in Nicaragua, according to family members and his lawyer. Jeffrey Jarquín, 35, was taken by authorities upon disembarking his U.S. deportation flight in Managua, Nicaragua’s capital, and returned to the same prison where he had previously been tortured.

A family member, who requested anonymity due to fear of government reprisal, confirmed Jarquín’s detention to The Associated Press. Local media initially reported on the deportation and subsequent imprisonment.

Jarquín was a prominent participant in the 2018 anti-government protests that triggered a crackdown on dissent by Nicaraguan co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. The government’s suppression of critics has led to the exodus of over 800,000 people from Nicaragua, according to United Nations figures.

Osley Sallent, Jarquín’s U.S.-based lawyer, confirmed that Jarquín had sought asylum in the United States. Prior to his asylum case being rejected by a Louisiana court in July, Jarquín was held at the Everglades immigration detention center in Florida, known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” which has faced reports of harsh conditions.

In 2018, Jarquín was detained with other protesters and imprisoned in El Modelo, a maximum-security facility. During his yearlong incarceration before fleeing to the U.S., Jarquín and others were subjected to torture in chambers described as “tiny hell,” according to a 2019 report by the Organization of American States.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment. When asked for details regarding Jarquín’s re-imprisonment, a spokesperson for the Nicaraguan government responded with: “Thank you very much! Hugs.”

FILE - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, lead a rally in Managua, Nicaragua, Sept. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga, File)

The Trump administration has been critical of the Nicaraguan government, labeling it a dictatorship. Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Landau recently stated that the situation in Nicaragua was “intolerable” and that Ortega and Murillo’s “dictatorship has no place in our hemisphere.”

Despite these criticisms, U.S. deportations to Nicaragua have increased in recent months. Between January and July, the Trump administration deported 6,300 Nicaraguans, according to a Human Rights Watch report. The organization also documented instances where at least eight Nicaraguan exiles, some with pending asylum applications, were stripped of their citizenship by the Nicaraguan government, a move seen as a punitive measure against critics.

Juan Pappier, deputy director of the Americas for Human Rights Watch, described the situation as hypocritical, stating that critics sent back to Nicaragua face a real risk of torture or persecution from what he called the “most brutal government in the Western Hemisphere.”

FILE - People protest at the Jean Paul Genie roundabout against the government of President Daniel Ortega, in Managua, Nicaragua, on May 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga, File)