The environmental organization Fundación del Río demands the immediate release of eight Mayangna forest rangers who are imprisoned, through the campaign Voices of the Forest: Justice and Liberation for Indigenous Mayangna Rangers. The organization denounces that the crimes for which they are charged were not committed by them, but by settlers who have the Ortega regime’s protection.
These rangers are accused of being the perpetrators of a massacre in Kiwakumbaih, which occurred on August 23, 2021, in the Mayangna Sauni As indigenous territory in the municipality of Bonanza, in the North Caribbean Coast (RACCN).
In the massacre, which according to reports from community leaders and civil organizations was committed by at least 40 settlers, 11 Mayangna and Miskito people were killed, and several survivors were tortured and sexually abused.
Despite the communities pointing out that the perpetrators of the massacre were non-indigenous settlers, the National Police arrested the Mayangna rangers Argüello Lino, Ignacio Celso Lino, and Donald Andrés Bruno Arcángel that year.
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Later, in August 2023, they arrested Rodrigo Bruno Arcángel, Evertz Antonio Bruno Palacios, Olvier Bruno Palacios, Tony Alberto Bruno Smith, and Dionisio Robins.
Four of the rangers were sentenced to life imprisonment, and the other four received 25-year prison sentences amid trials marked by irregularities and fabricated accusations.
The organization also demands the release of the Mayangna rangers Lorenzo López Henry and Silvio Hernández Miguel, who were arrested by the National Police on July 30, 2024.
Retaliation for defending their territories
The rangers’ detention is a form of retaliation for opposing and denouncing the invasion of settlers who steal the territories of indigenous communities, as they were known for defending these lands, Fundación del Río denounces.
“These men, who were falsely presented as criminals, dedicated their lives to monitoring and reporting the invasion of settlers in indigenous territories, as well as the illegal sale and leasing of lands, corruption by authorities, and the mining concessions that threaten their territories,” they state.
It is also a way to promote impunity against the victims of these territories, who, besides facing attacks from invaders, are also abused and imprisoned by the state for their complaints.
These rangers are subjected to torture by authorities at the Jorge Navarro Penitentiary System, known as La Modelo. They currently live in inhumane conditions of confinement and suffer threats and abuse perpetrated by the police.
According to the organization, the rangers have health complications that have not been attended to, such as hearing, heart, hypertension, vision problems, and other chronic health issues.
Rangers suffer depression due to isolation
Their families report that they are confined in maximum-security cells and that since May, they have been prohibited from going out to the yard to receive sunlight or interact with other inmates or their own families in other cells.
According to what the rangers have said, this is due to a six-month punishment by prison authorities, but they were not given a reason.
“In May, there were two suicide attempts due to this situation. Some are experiencing mental problems, feeling bad, and crying. Others are suffering from health issues, lack of water, food, and other personal needs,” the families told the environmental organization.
Only the youngest rangers are allowed to go out to the yard for one hour every four days. “Their families report that they have lost hope of leaving prison, a hopelessness reinforced by comments from the prison police,” Fundación del Río states.
Although high-ranking officials from the Penitentiary System assured the families that there was a possibility of releasing the rangers, the sentences established in February by the Judiciary contradict these versions.
The legacy of indigenous rangers
Rangers are an authority figure that assists the traditional authorities of indigenous communities. Their work involves preserving natural resources, cleaning the boundaries of territories, and monitoring to ensure the area remains protected.
These groups denounce the existence of settler groups that have state permission to illegally take over indigenous territories and have been protected by the Ortega-Murillo regime.
A complaint by civil organizations to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on July 11 revealed that in the first half of 2024 alone, 643 cases of human rights violations against indigenous peoples of the RACCN were reported.
The documented cases include the burning of homes, threats, kidnappings, torture, and even murders. This year alone, organizations have documented the murder of four indigenous people during settler attacks, bringing the total to 79 indigenous people killed in this context since 2013.