Monitoring press freedom and international affairs from Mid-Missouri Public Radio and the Missouri School of Journalism

Why Nicaragua's journalists had to leave their country to keep reporting on it

7 December 2021
Exiled Nicaraguans protest through the main streets of San Jose, Costa Rica, against Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. EPA-EFE/Jeffrey Arguedas

Daniel Ortega once fought a Nicaraguan dictator. Now he has become one. Before "winning" a fourth term as the country's president in November, the former leftist freedom fighter systematically jailed all his leading opponents. Then he went after journalists who criticized him.

Some managed to flee and are now working in exile. "It's really dangerous for your life," said one reporter. Like several we interviewed, he prefers not to give his surname for security reasons.

For more on how Nicaragua became one of the least free countries in the Western hemisphere, and how Nicaraguan journalists are defying Ortega's attempt to muzzle them, watch our report.

Monitoring press freedom and international affairs from Mid-Missouri Public Radio and the Missouri School of Journalism.
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