Three years ago, Félix Maradiaga, President of the World Liberty Congress, was released after more than 600 days in prison for standing up to authoritarianism in Nicaragua. His release came as part of a mass expulsion: on February 9, 2023, the Ortega-Murillo regime freed 222 political prisoners, only to banish them from the country and strip them of their citizenship — an act widely described as unprecedented in Latin America. For Félix — and for so many former political prisoners around the world — freedom remains incomplete. Detention and silence were followed by statelessness and forced exile, denying them the right to return home or reclaim their identity. His story is not unique. Across the globe, authoritarian regimes replace prison walls with exile, releasing political prisoners only to leave them stateless, separated from their families, and deprived of their most basic rights. Freedom is not just walking out of a cell. It is having a country, an identity, the right to return home, and the ability to rebuild life without fear. Today is not a celebration. It is a reminder: Release is not freedom.
