Latin America Today | Human Rights Award Month Special
The Ortega-Murillo regime has spent eight years tightening its grip in Nicaragua, shutting down thousands of civil society groups and jailing critics. Among the casualties is Fundación del Río, the environmental organization WOLA is honoring with this year’s Human Rights Award.
WOLA’s Maureen Meyer sits down with former U.S. Ambassador Kevin Sullivan to take stock: how Nicaragua got here, the role and limits of sanctions and diplomatic pressure, and what U.S. policy now means for Nicaraguans seeking safety, including the political prisoners released to the United States in 2023.
About the guest
Kevin Sullivan is vice president at the Council of the Americas. A career Foreign Service officer, he served as U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua from 2018 to 2023, then as deputy assistant secretary for South America at the U.S. Department of State. Earlier, he was deputy U.S. representative to the Organization of American States.
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Watch the video (with Spanish subtitles)
