Nicaraguan families beg for answers as dissenters vanish into state custody

Government opponents, including former Sandinistas, have been detained No trial, no information given to families Rights groups say 31 people currently victims of enforced disappearance Government has not responded to accusations By Gabriela Selser and Diego Oré MEXICO CITY, Oct 14 (Reuters) — Thelma Brenes grew worried when her father in Nicaragua did not return her messages. Retired Army Colonel Carlos Brenes, 71, lived with his wife, Salvadora Martinez, 69, on a rural property south of the capital Managua. Brenes' daughter Thelma, living in the Netherlands, asked a neighbor to check on the couple. He found the house empty. Local residents later told her they’d seen the police escorting the couple away in a patrol car. That was August 2025. Since then, the Brenes family have pleaded with the authorities for information about the couple’s whereabouts, health and status, but they have heard nothing, not even if they are in custody. What they do know is that Carlos Brenes is one of President Daniel Ortega's most outspoken critics. Martinez is a homemaker with no known political involvement. "For us, as family members, this is a form of torture," said Thelma Brenes. She is one of gro