Congressman Mario Díaz-Balart and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush joined other Republicans in publicly demanding that the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo be held accountable for its abuses after the U.S. State Department imposed visa restrictions on 100 Nicaraguan officials and their family members following the death of Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera Bryan.
Rivera, a former lawmaker and leader of the Indigenous political party YATAMA, died on May 30 while in state custody. He had been unjustly detained since September 2023 and was subjected to enforced disappearance, with his family kept unaware of his whereabouts and health condition until the dictatorship presented him in a visibly deteriorated physical state on May 27.
“I commend President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio for leveraging every tool in the box available to hold the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship and its cronies accountable for their crimes,” Díaz-Balart, the Republican representative for Florida’s 26th Congressional District, wrote on X.
The congressman described the visa restrictions on Nicaraguan regime officials as a “decisive action” by the Trump administration and “an important step toward promoting accountability, democracy, the rule of law, and fundamental human rights for the people of Nicaragua.”
Read also: How Nicaragua’s Deepening Ties to Russia and China Could Backfire Under Trump’s Donroe Doctrine
The U.S. measure sparked mixed reactions among Nicaraguan opposition figures. Some argued that the decision carries both psychological and legal consequences for those targeted, demonstrating that “the cost of serving the dictatorship continues to rise.” Others, however, called for tougher sanctions to bring about meaningful political change.
Rivera’s death leaves what many describe as an “open wound” among Nicaragua’s Indigenous communities, which have long faced marginalization and neglect. In addition to Díaz-Balart and Bush, Republican lawmakers María Elvira Salazar, Carlos Giménez, and Brian Mast have also voiced support for democracy and human rights in Nicaragua.
Jeb Bush to Rubio: “Well Done!”
Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush reposted a message on X from Republican Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar, adding the comment: “Well done, Secretary Rubio.”
The remark referred to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who described Ortega and Murillo as “enemies of humanity” when announcing the visa restrictions.
Salazar’s message, which Bush shared, emphasized the need to hold the dictatorship’s collaborators accountable.
Bush is the son of former President George H. W. Bush and the brother of former President George W. Bush. The Trump administration has repeatedly denounced the legitimacy of Nicaragua’s government, referring to it in official communications as the “Murillo-Ortega regime.”
The designation reflects Rosario Murillo’s consolidation of power alongside her husband, Daniel Ortega, following constitutional reforms that weakened the separation of powers while strengthening the country’s repressive apparatus.
The United States is also closely monitoring Ortega and Murillo’s ties with China. This scrutiny comes months after Washington moved against Nicolás Maduro on drug-trafficking-related charges. Meanwhile, Cuba continues to face a deep economic and political crisis, with its leadership engaged in talks with the Trump administration—developments that have weakened some of Havana’s allies in Latin America, including Nicaragua’s ruling regime.
You may be interested: U.S. Holds Nicaraguan Officials Accountable for Brooklyn Rivera’s Death, Imposes More Than a Hundred Visa Restrictions
“No One Who Supports Tyranny Will Escape Justice”
Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar reiterated in a post on X that the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship “survives because of the accomplices who do its dirty work,” referring to the Nicaraguan officials targeted by the U.S. visa restrictions.
The Republican lawmaker has closely followed developments in Nicaragua and has previously argued that the Ortega-Murillo regime could be the next authoritarian government to fall after Cuba. She said the visa restrictions send a clear message from the United States: “No one who supports tyranny will escape justice. Nicaragua will be free!”
In its statement, the State Department said the United States “will not ignore the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship’s responsibility for the horrific death of political prisoner Brooklyn Rivera.”
U.S. authorities specifically identified sanctioned electoral magistrate Lumberto Campbell Hooker, accusing him of being directly involved in denying Rivera medical care and preventing his family from burying his remains. Members of Rivera’s family are reportedly still being detained by Nicaraguan authorities.
Meanwhile, opposition leader Félix Maradiaga said the visa restrictions can be interpreted in another way: those targeted by the sanctions, along with their families and assets, are now “under scrutiny.”
