On the morning of June 19, 2025, the quiet of a San Jose condominium complex was shattered by gunfire. Roberto Samcam, a 67-year-old retired Nicaraguan military officer and a relentless critic of President Daniel Ortega’s regime, was shot multiple times with a 9mm pistol, according to Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigations agency. The gunman—later identified as a 20-year-old suspect—escaped, leaving behind a community of exiles wracked with fear and uncertainty.
Samcam’s murder sent shockwaves through both the Costa Rican and Nicaraguan exile communities. For many, his assassination was more than a personal tragedy; it was a chilling reminder of the dangers faced by those who dare to speak out against authoritarian power. As AP reported, Samcam had been living in exile since July 2018, after paramilitaries assaulted his home in Nicaragua. That attack came in the wake of a brutal crackdown on mass protests, during which hundreds were allegedly killed and thousands forced to flee.
Authorities in Costa Rica moved quickly in the aftermath of the killing. By September 12, 2025, they had arrested four individuals linked to the murder. The suspects included not only the alleged shooter but also an intermediary believed to have organized the operation, a driver, and the intermediary’s girlfriend. According to Randall Zúñiga, head of Costa Rica’s judicial investigation body, the intermediary played a key role in connecting the hitman with those who commissioned the crime. Despite these arrests, the true mastermind remains at large—a fact that continues to haunt both investigators and the Nicaraguan dissident community.
“We have not determined who masterminded the killing or if there was any involvement by anyone outside Costa Rica,” Zúñiga told reporters, as cited by AP. Investigators have emphasized that, so far, there is no evidence linking the murder to activities or actors beyond Costa Rica’s borders. This finding, while narrowing the scope of the investigation, does little to ease the anxieties of those who believe the long arm of the Nicaraguan government still reaches across national lines.
Samcam was far from an anonymous exile. He had become a prominent voice among Nicaraguan dissidents in Costa Rica, regularly condemning President Ortega and the military’s role in suppressing opposition voices. In 2020, Samcam served as an expert for the Court of Conscience, organized by Costa Rica’s Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress. There, he helped collect testimony from those who had suffered torture and other abuses at the hands of the Nicaraguan government, according to AP.
His activism extended beyond the courtroom. In 2022, Samcam published a book titled Ortega: El calvario de Nicaragua (Ortega: Nicaragua’s Torment), chronicling the rise of what he described as a dictatorship under Ortega. The following year, he released another text, detailing how he watched Ortega consolidate power and silence dissent. These works cemented his status as a leading chronicler of Nicaragua’s political crisis and a persistent thorn in the side of the regime he had once served.
The circumstances of Samcam’s murder have drawn uncomfortable parallels to another recent attack on a Nicaraguan opposition figure. In 2024, Joao Salgado, a fellow dissident, survived an attempted assassination in Costa Rica. Salgado was shot several times and later accused a cell of Nicaragua’s Sandinista National Liberation Front of orchestrating the attack. As Zúñiga noted, there were notable similarities between the two cases: both involved drivers from the same neighborhood, and both were carried out in what he described as a “clumsy way.” These patterns have fueled speculation about the existence of a coordinated campaign targeting exiled opponents of the Ortega government.
The broader context is one of ongoing repression and displacement. Since the eruption of protests in 2018, Nicaragua’s government has systematically pursued any voice of opposition. According to AP, the regime has shuttered hundreds of nongovernmental organizations and persecuted religious groups, including the Catholic Church. The crackdown has driven hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans to seek refuge in Costa Rica, transforming the small Central American nation into a hub for political exiles and activists.
Samcam’s journey into exile began with violence. In July 2018, paramilitaries assaulted his home in Nicaragua, forcing him to flee for his life. He joined a growing community of dissidents who had escaped similar fates, all carrying stories of persecution, loss, and resilience. For many, Costa Rica offered a fragile sanctuary—a place where they could rebuild their lives and continue their struggle for democracy from afar.
Yet even in exile, safety is not guaranteed. The arrests following Samcam’s assassination have provided some measure of reassurance, but the fact that the mastermind remains unidentified is a stark reminder of the risks that persist. Authorities have been careful to stress that their investigation has not uncovered links to external actors, but the shadow of the Nicaraguan government looms large in the minds of many exiles.
Samcam’s legacy is one of courage and conviction. He was unafraid to speak out against injustice, even when it put him in grave danger. His work with the Arias Foundation and his published accounts of life under Ortega’s rule provided invaluable documentation of human rights abuses and the erosion of democratic norms in Nicaragua. For those who knew him, his death is a devastating loss—not only for his family and friends, but for the broader movement for justice and accountability in Central America.
The investigation into his murder continues, with Costa Rican authorities vowing to pursue every lead. As Zúñiga and his team work to unravel the remaining mysteries, the Nicaraguan exile community watches anxiously, hoping for answers—and for justice. The case has become a touchstone for the ongoing struggle between authoritarian power and the quest for freedom, a struggle that shows no signs of abating.
For now, the story of Roberto Samcam stands as a testament to the resilience of those who refuse to be silenced. His life and untimely death underscore the high stakes of dissent in a region where democracy remains under threat, and where the price of speaking truth to power can be heartbreakingly high.