• By Silvia Higuera
• November 4, 2026

For Nicaraguan journalist Luis Galeano, the U.S. government's approval of his and his family’s political asylum application represented a victory not only for them personally but also over the repressive government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, which forced them to flee their homeland.

Galeano spoke with LatAm Journalism Review (LJR) after spending 11 days in detention at the Krome Detention Center in Miami and nearly a month awaiting a decision on his immigration status.

He said the ruling had renewed his determination to continue working against the news blackout gripping Nicaragua for nearly a decade.

“When I left the detention center, I did my program and said, particularly to the dictators [Ortega and Murillo], that what happened to me here in the United States was their responsibility because I should be in Nicaragua, doing my program without any problems” Galeano said. “If they thought they were going to silence me [...], they were wrong. I am coming back with more strength, more commitment and more drive to keep doing my work.”

Galeano was detained on Sept. 14 in Orlando, in central Florida. He had migrated to the United States in 2018 and had a pending asylum application after an arrest warrant was issued against him in Nicaragua.

Since his detention, Galeano's case has drawn attention because of what it could mean for Nicaraguan journalism surviving in exile.

The case highlights the precarious situation of other Nicaraguan journalists seeking protection after being forced into exile because of their work. Those who have sought refuge in the United States have faced not only continued attacks from the Ortega-Murillo government in Nicaragua but also uncertainty over the immigration policies of the Donald Trump administration, which has increased deportations, denied a large number of asylum applications and eliminated humanitarian protection programs for migrants.

José Carlos Zamora, regional director for the Americas at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), welcomed the approval of Galeano's application.

“It is essential protection that allows him to continue reporting from exile,” Zamora told LJR. “The persecution he has faced for practicing journalism is well documented.”

“A path of hope”

Galeano said he believed his asylum application was approved because of the strength of his case: He had extensively documented the persecution he experienced because of his work, both in Nicaragua and while living in exile in the United States.

Immigration Judge Daniel Dowall approved his application after U.S. immigration authorities acknowledged that there were grounds to grant him protection, according to a report by Miami's Telemundo 51 news station.

Since arriving in the United States eight years ago, Galeano had sought ways to continue his work through his program “Café con Voz,” driven by a “moral commitment” to report on what was happening in his country. While already in exile, he learned that journalists Miguel Mora and Lucía Pineda — who ran the 100% Noticias television channel, where he hosted his program — had been detained and that the country already had at least 600 political prisoners.

“I couldn't abandon what was happening or pretend not to know about it,” Galeano said, adding that his work further angered the dictatorship. The persecution and attempts to silence him continued, he said.

After 11 days at the Krome Detention Center in Miami, Luis Galeano was released in the early hours of September 26, 2026. (Photo: Café Con Voz)

“I am a journalist. I am visible, and my work can be scrutinized every day,” he said. “I am on my program every day, doing the same thing every day, receiving threats and insults every day. I can demonstrate that I have remained active and that this activity is a source of irritation for the regime, and that the danger is persistent, ongoing and has not ended.”

Reporters Without Borders included Ortega and Murillo on its 2026 list of “Predators of Press Freedom,” citing the exile of hundreds of media workers and the closure or confiscation of dozens of news outlets during their rule. The government has also stripped journalists such as Galeano of their property and Nicaraguan citizenship.

Galeano's asylum approval, however, was not guaranteed. In fact, approvals of such cases in the United States have become uncommon.

According to an analysis by Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), immigration judges denied 94.1% of asylum applications in June 2026.

Following Galeano's detention in September, immigration authorities said he had overstayed the period of authorized stay granted when he first arrived in the country. Authorities have said that having a pending application for an immigration benefit does not confer legal status to remain in the country, a position that several legal organizations have disputed.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration has repeatedly condemned the Ortega-Murillo regime, in part for silencing and exiling journalists.

Zamora, who has not been able to review the legal ruling in Galeano's case, said it was not possible to determine whether the asylum approval reflected a broader shift in the U.S. government's position toward Nicaragua or journalism. Still, he said, the decision was positive.

“There must be consistency between standing up against the repression of the press in Nicaragua and protecting those forced to flee it,” Zamora said. “That has been our call. The United States must offer refuge and ensure that immigration measures are not used to silence journalism.”

Supporting Nicaraguan journalism

When Galeano was detained, international organizations and several U.S. politicians called for his release and urged authorities to prevent his deportation.

María Elvira Salazar, a Republican congresswoman from Florida, issued a statement calling for an immediate review of his case.

“The United States must always know how to distinguish between a criminal and a political exile,” the congresswoman wrote in her statement. “Luis is a highly respected journalist who paid a very high price for telling the world the truth about the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship [...] Luis cannot end up in the hands of the same dictatorship that persecuted him.”

Mario Díaz-Balart, another Republican congressman from Florida, said the United States must continue to be a beacon of light for people fleeing tyranny.

“We must uphold that tradition and ensure that Luis Chavarría-Galeano and other political exiles receive the protection and due process they deserve,” he wrote.

The Inter American Press Association and Reporters Without Borders also spoke out.

Tifani Roberts, a Nicaraguan journalist who works for the Univision network in the United States, said journalists in exile are essential to reporting on what is happening in their country.

“The responsibility to inform is in their blood, and their conscience allows them to do nothing else but report. That is what it means to love a country,” Roberts said. “Nicaraguans owe a debt to these journalists who have lost everything because of their work. They did not sell their conscience; they chose to pay the price of informing the public, and that price was enormous.”

Galeano has also called for greater protection for Nicaraguan journalism. He emphasized the courage of those who remain in the country and continue reporting clandestinely, as well as the need to support those doing the same from exile.

Beyond the persecution that follows journalists across borders, Galeano said, practicing journalism in exile brings greater economic challenges. At the time of his detention, Galeano was driving for the ride-hailing app Uber, a job that helps support his family.

“The fact that these voices have not been silenced is already significant,” he said. “But support must be provided to sustain the few platforms that remain. [...] Any resources are welcome if they help keep a voice alive, one that can overcome the obstacles to denouncing injustice and violations of human rights and freedom.”

This text was translated with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Jorge Valencia