Exiled Nicaraguan journalist detained by ICE while driving for Uber, later released on bond
Sep 26, 2026·Location: Miami, FL
Country of origin: Nicaragua

Luis Manuel Chavarría-Galeano, a 48-year-old exiled Nicaraguan journalist who hosts the interview program Café con Voz, was detained by ICE agents on September 14, 2026 while working as an Uber/Lyft driver near Orlando to supplement his journalism income. He fled Nicaragua in 2018 after police raided his newsroom and imprisoned colleagues over his reporting critical of Daniel Ortega's government, filing for asylum in the U.S. in June 2019 with a pending case, a valid work permit, and no U.S. criminal record. In 2023, the Ortega-Murillo government stripped him and 93 other journalists, writers, and activists of their citizenship. His wife, Daykel Santamaría, said she received only a brief call before his phone was taken, during which he asked her to contact a lawyer and notify journalists. He was held at Baker Correctional Facility and then Krome North Service Processing Center, where press freedom groups including the Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders, Nicaraguan opposition members, and U.S. lawmakers such as Congresswoman María Elvira Salazar called for his release. An immigration judge granted him bond on September 23, and he was released on September 26, with a future immigration court hearing scheduled.
Timeline
Sources
- Exiled Nicaraguan journalist Luis Galeano detained by ICE in Florida
The Guardian·Sep 16, 2026·archived copy
- “ICE Detained Me”: The 15-Second Call in Which Journalist Luis Galeano Alerted His Wife From a Police Station in Florida
divergentes.com·Sep 14, 2026·archived copy
- U.S. immigration officers arrest exiled Nicaraguan journalist in Florida
- ICE Detains Luis Galeano, Nicaraguan Journalist Exiled and Stripped of Citizenship by the Ortega-Murillo Regime
expedientepublico.org·Sep 14, 2026
- ‘I fear for his safety’: Nicaraguan journalist persecuted by Ortega faces deportation from US
english.elpais.com·Sep 17, 2026
- Exiled Nicaraguan journalist detained by ICE in Florida. He could be deported to country he escaped
WLRN·Sep 19, 2026
- US: Victims of Nicaraguan Government Risk Deportation
hrw.org·Oct 2, 2026
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