San Jose, Costa Rica, August 28, 2026.—We condemn the arbitrary detention and subsequent enforced disappearance of Thelma Montenegro, a lawyer, notary public, human rights defender, and member of the Mothers of April Association (AMA), whose whereabouts have remained unknown since August 25, 2026.

Thelma Montenegro has been advocating for human rights and denouncing impunity for the murders of several members of her family, which occurred in the context of the Ortega-Murillo regime’s repression of opposition figures or those perceived as such. Her brother Oliver Montenegro was murdered in January 2019 (at his farm in El Cuá); later, in June of that same year, her brother Edgar Montenegro and her adoptive son Yalmar Zeledón were murdered in Honduras, where they had sought refuge; and in August 2019, her husband, Francisco Blandón Herrera, was murdered in Wiwilí.

On August 19, 2026, Thelma Montenegro went to the police station in Santa María de Pantasma, Jinotega, to renew her driver’s license. Once there, she was arbitrarily detained, and the authorities confiscated her cell phone and personal documents. After being held for three days, she was released on August 22.

However, on August 23, police authorities summoned her again, claiming she needed to come to retrieve the belongings that had been confiscated during her first detention. When she appeared before the authorities, she was once again deprived of her liberty.

On August 25, her family was told that Thelma Montenegro had been transferred to Managua. Since then, her family has been unaware of her exact place of detention, her health status, and her legal situation. The authorities’ refusal to provide information about her fate and whereabouts constitutes an enforced disappearance and places her in a situation of particular risk and vulnerability.

Enforced disappearance in Nicaragua has become a systematic practice linked to political imprisonment, used to keep detainees deprived of any effective protection and to deepen fear and uncertainty. In the case of Thelma Montenegro, this situation is particularly grave given her history as a human rights defender and her long-standing commitment to the search for truth and justice.

We demand that the Nicaraguan authorities:

• Immediately provide information on Thelma Montenegro’s condition and whereabouts and guarantee her personal safety.
• Respect and protect her life and physical integrity.
• Release her immediately and unconditionally.

We urgently call on the international community, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), and other international human rights protection mechanisms to immediately follow up on this case, demand information on Thelma Montenegro’s whereabouts, and keep the public’s attention focused on her situation.

SIGNED BY

Alianza Américas

Centro por la Justicia y el Derecho Internacional- CEJIL

CIVICUS, Alianza Global para la Participacion Ciudadana

Colectivo Nicaragua Nunca Más

Fundación para el Debido Proceso, DPLF

Institute on Race, Equality and Human Rights (Race and Equality)

Latin American Working Group, LAWG

Washington Office on Latin America, WOLA