RICO’s Q — At least six Nicaraguans, whom the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo had banned from returning to Nicaragua after traveling abroad, have received emails from the Ministry of the Interior (MINT) informing them that their entry into the country “is authorized,” the digital publication Confidencial confirmed.
“Amablemente hacemos de su conocimiento: el ingreso a nuestro país está autorizado. Favor acusar recibo”, escribió el MINT en los correos, en los cuales firma “Ministerio del Interior República de Nicaragua”. (We kindly inform you: entry into our country is authorized. Please acknowledge receipt,” the MINT wrote in the emails, which are signed “Ministry of the Interior, Republic of Nicaragua.)
Some of the citizens, who were effectively exiled, also received a form that the dictatorship requires foreigners entering or leaving Nicaragua to complete. The form requires them to provide personal information, nationality, details of their entry into the country, and whether they were invited by the government, a company, an embassy, or a friend.
The newspaper La Prensa also reported on the notifications from the Ministry of the Interior. According to their publication, some notices are also received via phone calls or WhatsApp messages.
Selective authorizations or a reversal?
With this decision, the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship would reverse its selective ban on Nicaraguans entering their own country, a policy it has implemented more regularly since mid-2023 and intensified in 2025.
However, authorities have not made any public announcement, and it is unknown whether the restoration of the right to enter the country is complete or if it will be applied in a discriminatory manner.
Several people consulted whom the dictatorship has banned from returning, said they had not been notified of any change in their situation.
In November 2025, the Minister of the Interior, María Amelia Coronel, justified the entry bans, saying:
“We do this, above all, because we have the legal authority to do so and, especially, to protect national sovereignty and our citizen security, which is the most important thing for the Ministry of the Interior and for all of Nicaragua.”
More than 300 Nicaraguans Barred from Nicaragua
The Grupo de Expertos en Derechos Humanos sobre Nicaragua (GRHEN)—Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua—revealed in February 2025 that the regime has denied entry to some 318 Nicaraguans between June 2018 and August 2025.
Among the Nicaraguans effectively exiled are journalists, human rights defenders, activists, relatives of opposition members, and former political prisoners, among other citizens.
Several national and international YouTubers have also publicly denounced being denied entry to Nicaragua.
One of those denied entry to Nicaragua is this writer. I am a naturalized Costa Rican. At the time, in February 2022, traveling on a Costa Rica passport.
The entry bans increased after the mass expulsion of 222 former political prisoners to the United States in February 2023 and, according to GRHEN, are part of a “broader pattern of serious and systematic violations of the right to freedom of movement and to freely choose one’s residence.”
“We are going after organized crime, terrorism, and any action by any person that threatens our peace and security, which we have worked so hard to achieve,” the Minister of the Interior stated in an interview with the pro-government channel TN8.
This is how entry bans to Nicaragua work
The GRHEN explained that the banning process begins when airlines or bus companies send passenger lists* to the General Directorate of Immigration.
Immigration authorities use these lists to compare the names with another updated list they receive periodically from the Ministry of the Interior. These lists indicate who is “on alert,” prohibiting their departure from, entry into, or re-entry into Nicaragua.
At Immigration, officials supplement the information with searches on the internet and social media about the individuals listed. With this review, any data, social media post, or link considered “suspicious” is enough to create a file on the person attempting to travel and deem them ineligible to leave or enter the country.
Finally, citizens receive an email from the airline or transportation company, usually 24 hours before their return trip to Nicaragua, informing them that they have been denied entry. Several of those attempting to leave also have their passports confiscated.
In my case, I was planning to drive across the border. I had left my car on the Costa Rican side, with a confirmed reservation for a vehicle on the Nicaraguan side. When the immigration officers scanned my passport, the computer let out a series of beeps. After a long ninety minutes and indirect questions about my connection to QCostarica.com, they kindly informed me that I wouldn’t be allowed in today and escorted me back to the Costa Rican border.
My wife, who was born in Nicaragua and later became a Costa Rican citizen, has made several trips to visit her family. Each time she flies out of San Jose, the airline holds onto her Nicaraguan passport—just like everyone else on the flight—and hands it back once they land in Nicaragua.
Political operatives decide who enters and who doesn’t
GRHEN revealed that there is a chain of command for those who decide on denials of entry to the country, headed by the Deputy Directorate General of Police Investigation and Intelligence, the Army’s Directorate of Defense Information, and operatives of the Sandinista Front.
These officials and operatives investigate citizens and send the information to the Ministry of the Interior (MINT) for authorization or denial of entry.
Then, there is a written or oral notification of the prohibition of entry into the country issued by the Ministry of the Interior to means of transport or border crossings in Nicaragua.
There is also underreporting of de facto displacements, because many choose not to report them for fear of reprisals.
The Group denounces that “the lack of official documentation prevents regularization or relocation procedures in other countries.”
Changes after tensions with the United States
In recent months, the Ortega-Murillo regime has softened its repressive stance following actions by the United States government against its allies in Venezuela and Cuba.
This began with the release of some political prisoners after the arrest of Nicolás Maduro, and the rejection of accusations of drug seizures originating in Nicaragua. Even the propaganda media have begun interviewing alleged drug traffickers detained after attempting to cross into the country.
The regime also allowed some Catholic churches to celebrate Semana Santa (Holy Week) activities and sent its propaganda outlets to cover them, in an attempt to deny religious persecution, while prohibitions and police surveillance remain in place in most parishes.
“We call on those who have spread falsehoods about our religious experiences to refute what is clearly a politically motivated disinformation campaign that fuels hatred and has nothing to do with religion or faith,” the “Co-Presidency” said in a statement, accusing the accusers of being “spokespeople for the U.S. government.”
Since 2019, after imprisoning dozens of priests, more than 200 religious figures, including four bishops from the Episcopal Conference, have been banished and remain in exile, while the regime has illegally confiscated 39 properties belonging to the Catholic Church and religious orders, as detailed by CONFIDENCIAL in an investigation published at the end of 2025.