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Nicaragua: Reparations for Victims & Democratic Transition

How much would it cost to compensate all the victims of the serious human rights violations committed by the Ortega-Murillo regime?

By Uriel Pineda (Confidencial)

HAVANA TIMES — In recent days, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, in relation to the 2025 ruling Chavarría Morales et al. v. Nicaragua, set compensation at $530,000 in favor of the victims. This has raised alarm among the political class regarding the day after the fall of the Ortega-Murillo regime and the work related to human rights violations. But why is urgent and prioritized attention to victims’ right to reparations important? How can it be carried out? And how much would it cost?

First, it seems pertinent to point out that the Chavarría Morales et al. v. Nicaragua case cannot serve as a benchmark for calculating compensation, due to the passage of time and, above all, because an international body was used to quantify damages.

Second, the importance of immediately implementing a policy of reparations for victims of serious human rights violations perpetrated by the Ortega-Murillo regime is necessary in order to: turn the page on this dark chapter; enable a genuine process of national reconciliation; focus public debate on building the kind of country that must be constructed; and, finally, to de-victimize the nation, preventing the emergence of populist leaderships grounded in unmet demands for justice.

How should a reparations policy for victims be designed? I believe that Mexico’s legal framework on reparations for human rights violations can be very instructive and transferable to the Nicaraguan reality. Based on this, I can point to four essential conditions. First, it must be established through a law; second, financial resources must be allocated; third, a state institution must be created—or ad hoc powers granted—to the Office of the Human Rights Ombudsperson; and fourth, a special procedure........

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