Nicaraguan political prisoner re-imprisoned after U.S. deportation

Jeffrey Jarquín, a 35-year-old Nicaraguan exile and former political prisoner, was immediately re-imprisoned in Nicaragua following his deportation from the United States. Upon arriving in Managua last week, Jarquín was taken by authorities to El Modelo, a maximum-security prison where he had previously been held.

Jarquín was a prominent figure in the 2018 anti-government protests against the administration of President Daniel Ortega. During his initial nine-month imprisonment in 2018, he and other protesters reported being subjected to torture in facilities described by the Organization of American States as “tiny hell.”

After his release in 2019, Jarquín sought political asylum in the United States. His asylum case was rejected by a Louisiana court in July. His lawyer noted that prior to his deportation, Jarquín had been held at a Florida immigration detention center. Human rights advocates have noted that Nicaraguan dissidents are increasingly facing deportation as U.S. immigration policies regarding asylum and migrant removal evolve.