MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Nicaraguan exile who was imprisoned and tortured after protesting against the government was deported by the U.S. back to his country, where he was immediately imprisoned once again by authorities, family members and his lawyer confirmed Monday.
Upon climbing off the U.S. deportation flight in Managua, Nicaragua's capital, last week, 35-year-old Jeffrey Jarquín was taken by authorities back to the same prison where he was once tortured, confirmed one family member.
The family member spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, fearing persecution by the government. Local media first reported on Jarquín’s deportation and detention.
Jarquín was a prominent figure in anti-government protests in 2018, which set off a yearslong campaign by husband-and-wife co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo to crush dissent.
The government’s crackdown on critics, civil society, religious groups and virtually anyone who raised their voice has fueled the flight of more than 800,000 people from the country, according to U.N. figures.
Osley Sallent, Jarquín’s lawyer in the U.S., confirmed the Nicaraguan exile was deported after seeking asylum in the United States.
Jarquín was detained in 2018 with other protesters and thrown into a maximum-security prison known as El Modelo. Until he was released a year later and fled to the U.S., Jarquín and others were tortured in chambers known as “tiny hell,” according to a 2019 report by the Organization of American States.
Sallent said Jarquín was living in Miami when he was detained. Before Jarquín's asylum case was rejected by a Louisiana court in July, Sallent said he was held in Alligator Alcatraz, the Florida immigration detention center in the Everglades plagued by reports of harsh conditions. Sallent wasn't able to provide more details of the asylum case.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Following a request by the AP for more details on why Jarquín was imprisoned for a second time, a spokesperson for Nicaragua's government responded: “Thank you very much! Hugs."
The Trump administration has long criticized the Nicaraguan government and labeled it a dictatorship, especially after authorities there canceled elections scheduled for next year. Just last week, Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Christopher Landau said in remarks before the OAS that what was happening in Nicaragua was “intolerable.”
“Murillo and Ortega’s dictatorship has no place in our hemisphere,” he added.
Despite that, ICE has ramped up deportations to the Central American country in recent months, according to a recent Human Rights Watch report, which said the Trump administration had deported 6,300 Nicaraguans between January and July 2026.
The organization documented that ICE had detained least eight Nicaraguan exiles who were stripped of their citizenship in a move observers say was intended to punish critics, the report said. Some of those detained had pending asylum applications.
Juan Pappier, deputy director of the Americas for Human Rights Watch, said the simultaneous criticisms of Nicaragua's government and deportations of those forced to flee its repression “makes Washington look hypocritical.”
“Nicaragua has the most brutal government in the Western Hemisphere, and any government critic who is sent back is at real risk of torture or persecution," Pappier said.
Associated Press reporter Gisela Salomon contributed to this report from Miami.
FILE - The Nicaraguan flag flies during a protest against the government of President Daniel Ortega, Aug. 3, 2019, in Managua, Nicaragua. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga, File)
FILE - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, lead a rally in Managua, Nicaragua, Sept. 5, 2018. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga, File)
FILE - People protest at the Jean Paul Genie roundabout against the government of President Daniel Ortega, in Managua, Nicaragua, on May 15, 2018. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga, File)
GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — President Donald Trump on Monday took his Republican midterm rescue mission to Nebraska, where he signed an executive order to ease limits on the tax-free use of red-dyed diesel, a decision he said would save “millions” for farmers and drive down the cost of all goods with just four weeks to go until the elections.
“Pete and Jim, this should absolutely ensure your election, I guarantee you that,” Trump said, addressing GOP Gov. Pete Ricketts, who is running against an independent candidate backed by national Democrats, and Gov. Jim Pillen, who is seeking a second term.
Diesel fuel prices have spiked in the aftermath of the Iran war, rattling voters and putting pressure on Republicans. Diesel fuel that is intended for off-road uses such as agriculture is exempt from federal and state excise taxes, and it is dyed for law enforcement purposes, the White House explained in a fact sheet. Temporarily removing the limits would reduce cost pressures on the businesses that rely on diesel.
“The typical trucker will save more than $100 every time they fill up,” Trump said, signing the executive order onstage before a crowd in Grand Island, Nebraska, in the solidly conservative south-central part of the state. He said the order will save farmers millions of dollars and drive down the cost of goods.
Patrick De Haan of GasBuddy, a platform that monitors national gasoline and diesel prices, noted last week, when news of the possible action began to surface, that such an order could save money for on-road users but not farmers, who already use red-dyed diesel.
"Taxes aren’t the problem, supply is," De Haan wrote on X.
Trump's trip is part of what the Republican president says is a 32-day blitz of rallies ahead of Nov. 3 that so far has taken him to ruby-red territory such as Oklahoma and Alabama. On Wednesday, he'll make his second stop in two weeks in Texas with a rally in San Antonio.
Ricketts, a former governor of the state, was appointed then later elected to fill Sen. Ben Sasse’s seat when he left to run the University of Florida in 2023. Now Ricketts is running for his first full six-year term against independent Dan Osborn — a race that initially was not expected to be competitive but is now being watched by the national parties.
Voters across the country are frustrated with Trump's handling of the economy, including persistently high costs for fuel and groceries. It's a major issue for rural voters who have backed the president and his party in recent elections.
The administration’s plan to allow more imports of foreign beef has particularly roiled the agriculture-rich state of Nebraska. Trump wants to lower beef prices for consumers, but ranchers have rebelled against the import proposal, arguing it would undercut them.
“The plan to import low-quality foreign beef is not helping Nebraska ranchers,” Ricketts told the AP. “I would advise the White House to change that policy and look for longer-term things that will help us build the size of the herd and ultimately bring the price of beef down for consumers.”
In Grand Island, rally-goers said they they trusted Trump to solve the high cost of living.
“I feel like if we get our reserves built back up, get this situation in Iran taken care of, our gas prices will go down. The economy as far as groceries and stuff like that, it's going to go down too. It’ll stabilize. I have faith in him. More faith in him than I ever had in any other president," said Marlene Abel from Garfield, Kansas.
David Kuncl, who grew up on a farm, expressed confidence things would improve in the long run. But the Lincoln, Nebraska, resident insisted Trump wasn't to blame, pointing instead to what he believes is “a coup, a plot to try to hurt Trump" and the Republicans in the midterms.
“It’s hurting us. Gas prices. Diesel prices. Beef prices," he said. “I don’t know why they’re high. But it’s not that Trump’s got anything to do with that. He’ll do what he can. But of course he can’t wave a magic wand and make it go lower.”
In the House of Representatives, the Grand Island area is represented by Republican Rep. Adrian Smith, whose race is not expected to be close.
But Nebraska has a competitive House race farther east in Omaha, in the 2nd District — considered the “blue dot” of the state because the area’s electoral vote in presidential elections often goes to Democrats. The district is in the midst of a competitive race between Republican Brinker Harding and Democrat Denise Powell to fill retiring Rep. Don Bacon ’s open seat.
Monday's rally came as the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC dedicated to electing Republicans to the House, cancelled $1.1 million in planned broadcast spending on behalf of the Republican candidate in the race, according to AdImpact, which tracks campaign media spending. It was a possible sign that GOP leaders feel the money could be put to better use elsewhere. The group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
There are tentative plans for Trump to travel to other election battlegrounds, including Michigan, North Carolina, Georgia, Ohio, Kansas, Montana, Pennsylvania, Alaska, Nevada and Arizona before November’s Election Day. That’s according to a person familiar with the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly and cautioned the plans could shift.
Osborn, a former labor union chief, ran against Republican Sen. Deb Fischer in 2024 and lost by 7 percentage points. Though national Democrats support him, he has refused to say what party he would caucus with should he be elected in November.
Other independents in the Senate, including Maine’s Angus King on the moderate end and Vermont’s Bernie Sanders on the left, caucus with Democrats for organizational purposes and committee assignments.
With the Democratic brand remaining deeply unpopular in conservative states, Osborn isn’t the only declared independent running for the Senate against Republicans this year. In South Dakota, Brian Bengs is campaigning as an independent against Republican Sen. Mike Rounds. Bengs ran as a Democrat for the Senate four years ago and was handily defeated by now-Senate Majority Leader John Thune. It’s a similar dynamic in Idaho, where independent Todd Achilles is challenging GOP Sen. Jim Risch.
Democratic voters in Nebraska chose Cindy Burbank as their party nominee, but Burbank campaigned on ensuring that no votes would be siphoned from Osborn in the general election, and she has since dropped out of the race.
Osborn has been traveling across Nebraska to hold meetings in all 93 counties, and has repeatedly criticized Ricketts for not holding town halls to meet with constituents.
Ricketts, whose family founded TD Ameritrade and owns Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs, served as governor from 2015 to 2023.
As Trump traveled to Nebraska, Vice President JD Vance headed to Fairbanks — with his wife and their two youngest kids in tow — to rally with Republican candidates there, including Sen. Dan Sullivan, who is locked in a contest with Democrat Mary Peltola that's one of a handful expected to determine control of the chamber in the November elections.
The two-term senator was in the Oval Office last week as Trump announced that South Korea planned to invest about $54 billion in a natural gas project in Alaska, but South Korean officials were more cautious, saying they needed to assess the project’s commercial viability before committing to the investment.
Kim and Kinnard reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jill Colvin in New York and Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.
President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Grand Island, Neb. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump displays a signed executive order at a campaign rally at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Grand Island, Neb. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump hands a signed executive order to White House aide Natalie Harp at a campaign rally at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Grand Island, Neb. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
People arrive before President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Grand Island, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
People arrive before President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center, Monday, Oct. 5, 2026, in Grand Island, Neb. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
President Donald Trump gestures from the stairs of Air Force One upon his departure at Joint Base Andrews, Md., Monday, Oct. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
President Donald Trump dances as he departs after speaking during an event at Butler High School in Vandalia, Ohio, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
