United Nations investigators say Nicaragua’s government has carried out a widespread and systematic campaign of repression against political opponents and critics that amounts to crimes against humanity.

In a report released Tuesday, September 22, the UN Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua said state institutions have been involved in enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, torture and political persecution.

Investigators documented 161 cases of enforced disappearance since April 2018, with some victims reportedly missing for months or even years. The experts also identified at least eight deaths of people while in state custody.

According to the investigators, police, prosecutors and intelligence agencies operated through coordinated chains of command reaching senior levels of the Nicaraguan government.

The report says the crackdown intensified following massive anti-government protests in 2018, when more than 300 people were killed. In recent years, investigators say authorities have expanded their targets beyond political opponents to include religious figures, Indigenous leaders, former government and military officials, journalists and other perceived critics.

Women detained for perceived political opposition were also subjected to gender-based abuse and threats, according to the UN experts.

The findings come amid further restrictions on political activity in Nicaragua. President Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo now serve as co-presidents, while recent constitutional changes have further restricted opposition political parties.

Nicaragua’s diplomatic mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment on the latest report.

The UN experts are calling on Nicaragua to end enforced disappearances, disclose information about those who remain missing and release people they say are being arbitrarily detained.

The latest findings add to years of international scrutiny over Nicaragua’s human rights situation and the political crisis that has unfolded since 2018.