CPJ, partners call for Nicaraguan journalist Luis Galeano’s release from  ICE detention

The Committee to Protect Journalists joined 14 other press freedom and civil society organizations in condemning the detention of Miami-based journalist Luis Galeano by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and called for his immediate release.

Galeano, director of the Spanish-language outlet Café con Voz, was detained September 14 while working as a rideshare driver. He fled Nicaragua in 2018 after the Ortega-Murillo government stripped nearly 100 journalists of their citizenship in retaliation for covering its crackdown on dissent. He has since reported on Nicaraguan and Florida communities from exile, holds a Social Security number and work permit, and has an asylum case that has been pending for nearly seven years.

The groups warned that Galeano faces serious danger if deported, noting the Department of Homeland Security ended Temporary Protected Status for Nicaraguan immigrants in July 2025. As a prominent press freedom advocate, Galeano would face heightened risk upon returning to Nicaragua. 

The organizations said Galeano’s case reflects a broader pattern of immigration enforcement being used to target journalists, particularly those reporting for immigrant and underserved communities.

Read the full statement in English here.