Luis Galeano, a Nicaraguan journalist who fled his country in 2018 amid a government crackdown on independent media, was arrested this week in Orlando, Florida, by U.S. immigration agents despite an ongoing political asylum case. Galeano had left Nicaragua after police raided the television station where he hosted a popular talk show and detained two of his colleagues. He applied for asylum upon arrival in the United States, citing threats linked to his critical reporting on the Sandinista government led by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, who serve as co-presidents of Nicaragua.

Since his exile, Galeano has worked as a ride-hailing driver and produced a daily YouTube program, “Café con Voz,” dedicated to exposing abuses in Nicaragua. The government in Managua declared him a “traitor to the homeland,” confiscated his property, and labeled him an enemy of the state. Despite these circumstances, U.S. authorities detained him on grounds that he overstayed his tourist visa, which expired in 2019. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson stated that Galeano was encouraged to self-deport and emphasized the U.S. offer of financial incentives and free travel for voluntary departure.

Galeano’s arrest reflects a broader shift in U.S. immigration enforcement policies under the Trump administration, which has tightened access to asylum and increased deportations, including those targeting political dissidents from Nicaragua. This includes individuals who fled Nicaragua following a violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests in 2018 and opposition figures critical of Ortega’s regime. Several former political prisoners, released under a 2023 U.S.-Nicaragua agreement and granted temporary humanitarian parole, have been detained in recent months while pursuing asylum claims. Among them are Marlon Gerardo Sáenz Cruz, a former Sandinista who reported torture after denouncing corruption, arrested in Los Angeles, and Denis Javier Palacios Hernández, detained in Virginia after participating in protests.

Human rights advocates warn that deporting these dissenters—many with no criminal records and documented histories of persecution—places them at significant risk. They argue that such actions contradict official U.S. policy condemning human rights abuses by the Nicaraguan government. Since Ortega announced the cancellation of future elections in July, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has pledged sanctions and other measures targeting Nicaraguan leaders. Rubio praised Nicaraguans’ resilience in pursuing democracy in the face of what he described as a “brutal” dictatorship.

Deportations of Nicaraguans have increased sharply in recent years, with flights to Managua more than quadrupling under the Trump administration compared to earlier periods. Nicaraguans are also being expelled to neighboring countries such as Mexico and Costa Rica, as well as locations as distant as the Central African Republic. Human rights groups caution that some deportees face dangers in these countries, including targeted violence by Sandinista operatives reported in Costa Rica.

Restrictions on press freedom have been central to Ortega and Murillo’s consolidation of power. The government has shuttered news outlets, imprisoned journalists, and enacted laws limiting independent reporting. At one point, imports of paper and ink for newspapers were banned. Galeano, a former Associated Press correspondent in Nicaragua, has been vocal in condemning what he terms systemic impunity for the Sandinista government’s actions.

The arrest of Galeano has drawn condemnation from activists, press freedom organizations, and even some U.S. lawmakers. Republican Representative María Elvira Salazar of Florida described Galeano as a journalist who paid a “very high price for telling the world the truth,” urging authorities to recognize the distinction between criminals and political exiles to prevent his deportation to a regime that persecuted him.