Q COSTARICA — The court file on the murder in Costa Rica of former Nicaraguan military officer Roberto Samcam Ruiz includes an element that elevates the scope of the case beyond an individual crime: testimonies pointing to the existence of a list of exiled opposition members who were allegedly targeted for assassination in Costa Rica.
This information does not come from a single source, nor is it presented as a definitive conclusion by the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ)—Judicial Investigation Agency. However, it appears repeatedly in statements collected by investigators, within a context that coincides with documented patterns of violence against Nicaraguan dissidents.
One of the witnesses cited in the expanded report states that he was aware of a “list of 10 people whom the Nicaraguan government had planned to assassinate,” on which Samcam appeared along with other opposition leaders.
Another testimony, from a source with access to police structures, describes a similar logic: opposition members were considered “targets of opportunity,” meaning they could be attacked whenever the opportunity arose.
Beyond the testimonies, the case file reconstructs a sequence of events that reinforces the hypothesis of targeted attacks.
These include previous attacks and assassinations of Nicaraguan opposition members linked to the movement that emerged after the 2018 protests, particularly in the department of Carazo. Cases such as that of Joao Maldonado Bermúdez—who survived two attacks—or the murder of Rodolfo Rojas Cordero are part of this context.
The OIJ concludes that there is a “consistent pattern”: people who participated in the so-called “roadblocks” in 2018, who later went into exile in Costa Rica, and who maintained political or public activity against the Nicaraguan regime, have been targeted at different times.
This pattern does not necessarily imply direct coordination between the events, but it does define a specific risk group.
Read more: “Politically Motivated Order” Is the Leading Motive in Samcam’s Murder
The would be targeted?
The testimonies help to identify the possible targets of this alleged list:
- Nicaraguan exiles residing in Costa Rica
- Participants in the 2018 protests
- People with public visibility or political influence
- Individuals who have denounced or investigated the regime
The report itself describes these individuals as having “public exposure as opponents of the Nicaraguan government” and active participation in social movements.
Samcam fit this profile. A former major in the Sandinista People’s Army, he had become an outspoken critic of Daniel Ortega’s government, with frequent publications, investigations, and public appearances.
The report also documents that the warnings about possible attacks were not isolated incidents.
According to the testimonies, information about the list began circulating among opposition members in exile, leading some to increase their security and even leave the country.
Several of the individuals named, according to these accounts, chose to relocate to other destinations, primarily Europe. Others, like Samcam, remained in Costa Rica.
This context makes the murder more than just an unexpected event: it positions it as the possible materialization of a previously warned threat.
International Reports
The OIJ file is not limited to collecting isolated testimonies. It also introduces a significant element: the correspondence between these accounts and the findings of international organizations regarding the persecution of Nicaraguan opposition members.
In particular, the investigators cite a report by the United Nations Human Rights Council that documents sustained patterns of repression since 2018. According to this document, “both state and non-state actors have constantly monitored, intimidated, and persecuted opposition members or those perceived as such,” in a scheme that is not limited to Nicaraguan territory.
The same report warns that “the government’s repressive actions transcend the country’s borders” and that these actions can be directed against opposition members abroad, as well as against their families, as a form of punishment or deterrence.
For the OIJ investigators, these findings are directly relevant to the Samcam case. The file indicates a “clear correlation” between the patterns described by the UN and the situation experienced by the victim, who was an active opposition member, stripped of his citizenship, and had his property confiscated in Nicaragua.
This convergence does not, in itself, prove the existence of a list of targets, but it does reinforce the context in which the testimonies gathered in the investigation emerged.
The result is an investigative hypothesis that, while not conclusive, is supported by multiple layers of evidence: testimonial, contextual, and international.