2008
Felix Maradiaga
President and Founder
FundaciĂłn Libertad
Felix Maradiaga is an academic, political activist, and former presidential candidate. In June 2021 he was arrested and held in solitary confinement in Nicaragua by Ortega’s regime, sentenced to 13 years imprisonment for the alleged crime of “conspiracy to undermine national integrity." In February 2023, Felix was released from captivity and flown to the U.S., along with 221 other political prisoners from Nicaragua, where he was reunited with his family.
After serving as the youngest-ever Secretary General of the Ministry of Defense, Felix has dedicated himself to strengthening peace, democracy, and the rule of law in Nicaragua. A recognized international expert in civil society and leadership development, he seeks to heighten international awareness of what he sees as Nicaragua's worsening political climate and human rights violations, and to help resource key human rights and pro-democracy organizations.
The 2008 World Fellows
The 2008 Yale World Fellows include a Pakistani journalist reporting from the frontline of the war on terror, a groundbreaking Chinese public interest lawyer, a Zimbabwean epidemiologist working to develop methods for prevention of HIV infection in women and the founding Secretary General of Nicaragua’s Ministry of Defense. “I am delighted to welcome this extraordinary group of men and women to the Yale community,” said Yale President Richard Levin. “Yale will benefit greatly from their presence on campus, and we anticipate that the World Fellows will gain new perspectives on their own roles as future leaders.” “The 2008 Yale World Fellows, while diverse in background, share both an outstanding record...Read More
MORE ABOUT FELIX
Raising Nicaragua's Flag | Felix Maradiaga | 2019
Is Nicaragua Headed Back to Its Violent Past? Q&A with Felix Maradiaga
Global Observatory - 10/03/2018Recent events in Nicaragua have prompted many to fear the country is returning to a cycle of violence and oppression similar to the one that left it in ruins 40 years ago, when corrupt dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle launched a bloody campaign to eliminate his opposition, the Sandinistas.