Europe17 September, 20262 min read
ICE Detains Nicaraguan Journalist Luis Galeano in Florida After Ortega Calls Him a Traitor
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ICE detained Nicaraguan journalist Luis Galeano in Florida on September 14. Daniel Ortega regime had declared him a traitor and stripped his Nicaraguan citizenship.
ICE detains Galeano
Luis Galeano, a Nicaraguan journalist who was stripped of his Nicaraguan nationality in 2023 after being declared a “traitor to the homeland,” was arrested by U.S. immigration authorities on September 14 while working as an Uber driver in Orlando, and he is currently held at Baker Correctional Center in Florida. Reporters Without Borders urged the Spanish government to intervene, saying Galeano was arrested by U.S. immigration authorities on September 14 and has lived in exile in the United States since 2018.
RSF also said Galeano must appear before an immigration judge on October 2, and it asked Spanish authorities to use “all diplomatic and consular tools at their disposal” to ensure his safety and prevent his return to Nicaragua. The Free Press coalition letter described ICE detention as a “troubling escalation of attacks on journalists and media workers,” and said the Department of Homeland Security withdrew temporary protected status (TPS) for Nicaraguan immigrants starting in July 2025.
Spanish pressure and quotes
In Spain-focused appeals, RSF urged the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Spanish Consulate in Miami to intervene and asked that the Spanish government formally inform the U.S. government that Galeano is a Spanish citizen. EL PAÍS reported that Galeano has held Spanish citizenship since 2025, when the government granted it by letter of naturalization after the Ortega–Morillo regime stripped him of Nicaraguan nationality in 2023.
Free Press Senior Counsel Nora Benavidez said, “When the government arrests and detains a journalist and prevents them from doing their work, it sends a chilling message to other reporters and civilians considering speaking truth to power.” The Free Press letter also warned that there are “severe dangers should the U.S. government seek to ignore his asylum case and move to deport him,” linking that risk to the July 2025 TPS withdrawal for Nicaraguan immigrants.
Deportation stakes in Florida
As Galeano’s immigration process moves forward, EL PAÍS said his wife, Deykell Santamaría, told the outlet, “I fear for his safety, his freedom and his integrity if he were to be sent to Nicaragua.” The same report quoted Santamaría adding that she fears “he could be sent back into the hands of the same regime he fled to protect his life and his freedom.”
“‘I fear for his safety, his freedom and his integrity if he were to be sent to Nicaragua,’ Santamaría told EL PAÍS.”
RSF Spain said the return of Luis Galeano to Nicaragua would be “particularly grave,” and it warned that he could face serious danger given the persecutions he had already suffered in Nicaragua for his work as an independent journalist. The Guardian reported that Javier Melendez, a sociologist who has been friends with the journalist for more than 30 years, said, “Deporting [Galeano] to Nicaragua would be a death sentence,” as his asylum application remained pending for about seven years.