The Subject of Freedom of the Press is Sounded Again in Nicaragua

Despite the world celebrating press freedom today, the world is experiencing its lowest level of press freedom in the last 25 years.  52.2% of countries worldwide are in a difficult or very serious situation regarding press freedom, the lowest level recorded in the last 25 years, according to a report by Reporters Without Borders.  In a world saturated with information, press freedom has become the last bastion of democracy. However, what was once an unquestionable right now faces a crossroads marked by censorship, disinformation, and growing risks for those of us at Newsroom Panama and many other news organizations, who practice the profession of informing. 

Panama Lags Behind in Press Freedom, Behind the Dominican Republic and Jamaica

The government of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua has seized the facilities and assets of the country’s oldest and most prominent newspaper, La Prensa, as part of a broader crackdown on independent media and dissent.

Continued Operation in Exile:

Despite the loss of its physical plant, La Prensa continues to report as a digital-only publication from exile.  As of 2026, La Prensa remains one of many independent voices forced into exile by the Nicaraguan government.

Key Details of the Seizure:

• Physical Takeover: On August 13, 2021, Nicaraguan police raided the offices of La Prensa in Managua, just one day after the newspaper announced it would stop printing because the government had withheld its newsprint and ink.
• Confiscation of Assets: In August 2022, the Ortega regime officially confiscated the newspaper’s building and assets, with Vice President Rosario Murillo announcing the site would be turned into a “cultural and polytechnic center”.
• Arrests and Exile: The newspaper’s general manager, Juan Lorenzo Holmann, was arrested in 2021 and later convicted of “money laundering” in a trial seen as politically motivated. He was later deported to the US in 2023. The entire staff was forced to flee the country to escape persecution.

Broader Context:

The independent news site Confidencial also saw its offices raided and seized by the police in 2018 and again in 2021.

La Prensa is not the only media outlet targeted. The Ortega regime has closed or confiscated over 60 media outlets, including radio stations and TV channels, over the past 18 years, with a dramatic acceleration since 2018.

Rosario María Murillo Zambrana pictured above left was born 22 June 1951 and is a Nicaraguan politician and poet who has been Co-president of Nicaragua alongside her husband, Daniel Ortega pictured above right, since February 2025. Before this, she served as Vice-President of Nicaragua, the country’s second-highest office, from 2017 to 2025, as First Lady of Nicaragua from 2007 to 2025 and from 1985 to 1990; she had been the wife of President Ortega. Some commentators, including the journalist Nahal Toosi and Nicaraguan opposition members, consider her and her husband as dictators over an authoritarian regime.