Law and Political Violence against Women in Central America

Cristiana Chamorro Barrios is a Nicaraguan journalist and founder of the Nicaraguan Foundation for Freedom of the Press, a nonprofit focused on promoting freedom of expression and public access to information, as well as providing training and support to local journalists. Cristiana was arrested on June 2, 2021, in Managua, Nicaragua, on accusations of tax evasion (International Society for Human Rights 2025). At the time of her arrest, Cristiana, a member of a prominent Nicaraguan family, had recently announced her intention to challenge Daniel Ortega in the November 2021 presidential election and was widely considered the favorite in the race. The charges against Cristiana 1 — including the vague claim of “abusive management and ideological falsehood” — though made with no evidence, disqualified her from running for office. She was later tried in sham proceedings and sentenced to eight years in prison. In 2023, Cristiana was one of hundreds of political prisoners forcibly expelled from the country and later stripped of their citizenship (Abi-Habib 2023; Confidencial 2021). 2