UN condemns killings of two more Indigenous residents on Nicaragua's Atlantic coast

Associated Press
Updated ·2 min read
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MEXICO CITY (AP) — The U.N. human rights office said Friday it condemned the killing of two more Indigenous residents on Nicaragua’s Atlantic coast.

The office called on the Nicaraguan government to investigate and punish the crimes. The government has not yet confirmed or commented on the two killings.

“The communities in this region have been seriously affected by violence in 2023,” the U.N. office said in its social media accounts.

The area where the attacks occurred, known as the Bosawas nature reserve, is set aside for Indigenous groups and environmental protection. But settlers want to clear the land to ranch and farms. The reserve also has been hit by illegal mining and logging.

Such killings often go unpunished in Nicaragua, where many of the settlers are thought to be former soldiers.

The U.N. rights office said it “calls on the government to investigate and find those responsible for these attacks, take action to prevent this from happening again, and guarantee the rights of the victims and their families.”

The environmental group the Del Río Foundation said the latest victims were two park wardens and were members of the Mayagna Sauni As people.

The men, Sergio Julián and Serato Juwith Charly, worked in the Indigenous nature reserve known as Bosawas, which is inhabitated largely by the Mayagna and Miskitu peoples.

Prilaka, an indigenous rights organization, said Julian, 42, was shot by four men near the township of Betlehem on Sunday. It said Charly, 23, was killed by suspected settlers in the village of Wilu on Wednesday.

Wilu was the scene of an attack in March by suspected settlers that killed five Mayagna people and wounded three.

The Mayangna and Miskito communities have been hit by a number of attacks in recent years, with about three dozen indigenous leaders and community members killed.

The Del Río Foundation says about 60% of the Mayangnas’ territory has been invaded by about 5,000 settlers since 2015, displacing some 3,000 Indigenous inhabitants.

Indigenous activists say the government of President Daniel Ortega has not done enough to address the problems in the jungled region. His administration denies that.