Hope Amid Horror: A Personal Story of Struggle for Freedom and Democracy

Juan Sebastián Chamorro
Kellogg Visiting Fellow

Juan Sebastián Chamorro’s upcoming book Hope Amid Horror:  A Personal Story of Struggle for Freedom and Democracy is a personal testimony of his involvement in Nicaraguan politics since civic protests and governmental violence erupted in April 2018. After announcing his candidacy to the presidency of Nicaragua, he was arbitrarily detained by Daniel Ortega’s regime in June 2021 and spent almost two years in prison. He was expelled from his country and stripped of his nationality in February 2023.

The book is a testimony of the author’s experience that led to his arrest, trial, and conviction to 13 years in prison. He describes the horrendous conditions of jail, the farse trial, death of a jail mate and the isolation and deprivations political prisoners suffered under Ortega’s regime. The book describes his dramatic and unusual release and “deportation” on a plane to the US in the morning of February 9, 2023, along with other 222 political prisoners.