Fallen Miskitu Leader Brooklyn Rivera of Nicaragua Honoured

November 13, 2026

November 2026 - On Friday, October 30, 2026 over two hundred Miskitu refugees in Costa Rica gathered to pay honour to their fallen leader, Ta Upla Brooklyn Rivera who was disappeared by the Nicaraguan government from September 29, 2023, until his untimely death on May 30, 2026 in a prison where he had been held incommunicado for that period of time.

The purpose of the event was to commemorate his five decades of defending his people's rights, which included engaging in an armed resistance in the 1980s, which led to the passage of an autonomy law, with elected Indigenous and Afro-descendant governments in both the north Atlantic and south Atlantic Regions of the Nicaraguan Atlantic Coast.

This was accompanied by the demarcation of Indigenous lands, with their own governments. However, over the past 10 years, after a relatively peaceful co-existence between the Indigenous peoples and the Nicaraguan state, the Sandinista regime turned a blind eye to the invasion of Indigenous lands by non-Indigenous Nicaraguans, to brutal acts, including murders of community leaders, and the general undermining of the Indigenous governments, and the stripping of democratic rights, not just for Indigenous peoples, but for opponents of the Sandinista repressive regime.

The event included cultural activities, a panel speaking to Rivera's legacy and presentation of photographs and dialogue by MMF Ambassador and President of the American Council of Indigenous Peoples, Clément Chartier who worked with Mr. Rivera since 1981.

The event culminated with the proclamation of a "Declaration of Ta Upla Brooklyn Rivera as Father of Autonomy", read out in the Miskitu language.

Ambassador Chartier also had a meeting at the Canadian Embassy on November 3^rd, accompanied by two Miskitu representatives. The Canadian delegation was led by Dana Cryderman, Political Counseller and several matters of concern were discussed, including the situation of the Indigenous people living in exile in Costa Rice. There was agreement that these discussions should continue.

View More