[{"id":8174,"date":"2026-09-25T05:33:56","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T05:33:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldnewsday.org\/?p=8174"},"modified":"2026-09-26T09:39:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T09:39:13","slug":"nicaragua-reinventing-journalism-in-exile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldnewsday.org\/nicaragua-reinventing-journalism-in-exile\/","title":{"rendered":"Nicaragua: Reinventing Journalism in Exile"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Carlos Fernando Chamorro<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Confidencial, reinventing journalism in exile is not a matter of aesthetic change; it is a strategy for resistance and survival to defeat censorship.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 19, 2026, dictator Daniel Ortega proclaimed that \u201cthere will never be elections in Nicaragua again.\u201d<\/a> The announcement sparked international outrage, although in reality, democratic elections in which political power could genuinely be contested had already been eliminated in practice more than a decade ago. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, for example, Ortega and his wife, \u201cco-president\u201d Rosario Murillo, secured another term without political competition, after outlawing political parties and imprisoning all seven opposition presidential hopefuls. What is new now is that Ortega is formalizing a one-party regime by enshrining the prohibition of democratic elections in the Constitution. This is merely the latest nail intended to seal the coffin of a nation and consolidate a totalitarian dynastic dictatorship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since 2018, after the police and paramilitary forces massacred demonstrators in nationwide protests demanding justice, democracy and free elections, leaving hundreds dead, a police state has been imposed that has eliminated all democratic freedoms. Without formally declaring a state of emergency, the dictatorship abolished freedom of assembly and movement, freedom of the press and freedom of expression, as well as electoral freedom; it imprisoned thousands of people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After 2021, it unleashed a fierce campaign of persecution against civil society, including the Catholic Church, and shut down more than 5,500 civil society organizations, among them private universities, think tanks, medical associations, business organizations, and even the Missionaries of Charity<\/a>, founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Reporters Without Borders\u2019 World Press Freedom Index, in 2026 Nicaragua ranks last in Latin America and 168th out of 180 countries worldwide for press freedom, compared with Cuba at 160th, Venezuela at 159th, and El Salvador at 143rd. More than 200 journalists, along with entire newsrooms, have been forced into permanent exile in order to preserve their freedom and continue practicing journalism. The good news is that, despite the political persecution of the press, independent journalism in exile is overcoming censorship in Nicaragua.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite internet blockages and the criminalization of freedom of expression, Confidencial<\/em><\/a> and other Nicaraguan digital media outlets operating from Costa Rica, the United States, Spain, and other countries continue to reach 50% of our audience inside Nicaragua.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, practicing journalism in exile requires us to overcome three major challenges: first, protecting our sources and collaborators through secure communication channels; second, undertaking extraordinary verification efforts to provide reliable information without having journalists on the ground; and third, and no less importantly, ensuring the financial sustainability of our newsrooms under the most adverse and challenging conditions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over these last five years in exile, Confidencial<\/em> has investigated dozens of emblematic cases of public corruption, state capture, human rights violations and the dismantling of democracy:<\/p>\n\n\n\n