US urges release of Indigenous leader

GUATEMALA CITY — The U.S. called for the release of imprisoned Nicaraguan Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera on Friday after the government published photos of him in the hospital in critical condition. Rivera, a leader of the Miskito people who have been at odds with the ruling Sandinista government for decades, has been imprisoned since Sept. 29, 2023, as part of a yearslong crackdown on dissent. His family has said he is imprisoned for political reasons and that the government hasn’t presented formal charges. At least a handful of prisoners have died in the Nicaraguan government’s custody in recent years as…