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Yadira Córdoba’s arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Aug. 20 in San Antonio has rattled Nicaragua’s exile community.
Córdoba, a Nicaraguan mother demanding justice for the murder of her 15-year-old son during a May 30, 2018 march in Nicaragua, was arrested during a routine immigration court appointment on August 20. She has been in the United States seeking asylum since 2023.
The U.S Department of Homeland Security could not immediately be reached for comment.
Córdoba is scheduled to have an expedited removal hearing on September 22. The American Immigration Council describes this process to be one by which noncitizens can be removed from the United States without a hearing before an immigration judge.
Undocumented immigrants placed in expedited removal proceedings are entitled to access the asylum system if they express fear of persecution, torture, or of returning to their home country.
The process can be flawed for a number of reasons, including a lack of judicial review and a backlog of asylum applications.
Córdoba faces the real risk of being deported to Nicaragua, where she has been targeted for persecution by the Ortega-Murillo regime.
Human rights organizations warn that her life is in danger if she is returned to Nicaragua.
Following the death of Córdoba’s 15-year-old son, Orlando, she became one of the most prominent voices demanding justice for victims of state repression.
She has since then been a high-profile figure in Nicaragua’s pro-democracy movement and is a member of the Mothers of April, a group that has become a symbol of resistance, demanding accountability and an end to the authoritarian regime in Nicaragua.
🇺🇸🚨 El ICE detuvo en San Antonio, Texas, a Yadira Córdoba, madre de una de las víctimas de las protestas de 2018 en Nicaragua. Esta fue la denuncia que realizó uno de los hijoshttps://t.co/2u3jy8H9i6 pic.twitter.com/MClXbbEHLN
— LA PRENSA Nicaragua (@laprensa) August 27, 2025
“The Mothers of April is made up of women whose children were killed. These are not politicians. They are schoolteachers, nurses, housewives—ordinary people who became activists because of unbearable loss. Their demand is simple: truth, justice, and guarantees of non-repetition,” said Félix Maradiaga, an opposition activist, former presidential candidate, and now professor at the University of Virginia and Johns Hopkins University.
Maradiaga added that “Yadira Córdoba is a name very well known in Nicaragua. She always spoke from a nonpartisan and nonpolitical perspective around the issues of justice, human rights, and democracy.” After her son’s assassination, she became a relentless spokesperson for the Mothers of April.
Córdoba’s activism came at a cost. She faced threats and persecution, forcing her into exile in Costa Rica in 2019. But even there she was not safe. “Let’s remember there have been assassination attempts against Nicaraguan activists there, and even killings. She did what any of us would do—flee to save her life,” said Maradiaga.
There have been documented assassination attempts and killings of Nicaraguan exiles in Costa Rica as part of a pattern of transnational repression orchestrated by the Nicaraguan government. Recent prominent cases include the killing of activist Roberto Samcam in 2025, the killing of Jaime Luis Ortega in 2024, and attacks against Joao Maldonado in 2023, though Costa Rica's president has denied Nicaraguan operatives are active in the country.
In 2023, Córdoba resettled in the United States, where she sought protection under U.S. asylum law. Her detention this month stunned Maradiaga and other exiles. “This was a shock to many of us,” he said. Yadira is an internationally recognized case. Her testimony has been recorded by the European Union, by the Organization of American States, by the United Nations, even raised before the U.N. Security Council. The U.S. government itself, during the first Trump administration, issued statements condemning the assassination of her son.
“That one of the most well-documented cases of extrajudicial killing could now result in deportation—it is absolutely outrageous.”
According to Pablo Cuevas, who’s part of Córdoba’s legal team, the issue is rooted in a technicality. “She entered undocumented and did not have a credible fear interview upon entry. That was later corrected, but ICE is treating it as a violation rather than a technicality”, explained Cordova.
The risk Córdoba faces if deported is severe. “Her life would be at risk,” Maradiaga said. “The regime does not need intelligence reports to know who Yadira is. She has spoken at international forums. If she is returned, she would not only be persecuted but could be disappeared.”
The Sandinista regime has built an extensive surveillance apparatus known as SORM, a Russian-designed system that compiles data into a centralized database. Anyone interrogated by authorities is entered into this system, which can pull information from social media, police records, and even neighborhood informants aligned with the Sandinista Party. Something as minor as a traffic ticket or a Facebook post from years ago can trigger inclusion. Local party members feed names into community lists, which are then passed up to regional representatives, ultimately creating a nationwide registry of citizens under scrutiny. For Nicaraguans who return after migrating—whether deported or coming back voluntarily—the consequences vary.
Maradiaga pointed out that “economic migrants are often forced to sign documents pledging not to criticize the regime. But political cases are different. Those deported activists simply disappear. Their families are too afraid to speak. That’s the kind of police state we are facing.”
He drew a sharp contrast between the U.S. government’s public support for Nicaragua’s pro-democracy movement and the flaws of its asylum system. “Asylum should be hard, and it should be rigorous. But the problem is inconsistency. Some cases without strong documentation are approved, while cases like Yadira’s—with extraordinary proof—are denied. That is what confuses and frightens people.”
Maradiaga himself continues to live in limbo in the U.S. after being released and banished from Nicaragua along with 221 other political prisoners in February 2023. “Neither my wife’s asylum case nor mine has been approved after seven years, despite recognition from U.S. authorities. We have chosen to stay in the asylum system as an act of solidarity with fellow Nicaraguans, to experience its flaws from within, and to speak with legitimacy.”
For Maradiaga, Córdoba’s story is more than an individual case. “When you see humble women—mothers who never imagined becoming political actors—stand up to the dictatorship, you see the real Nicaragua,” said Maradiaga. Yadira’s story is not only about her son Orlando. It is about a movement of mothers who refuse to be silenced.”
