UNESCO has announced the withdrawal of Nicaragua from the U.N. cultural and educational body because of the awarding of a UNESCO prize celebrating press freedom to a Nicaraguan newspaper, La Prensa.

This year's award went to La Prensa, Nicaragua's oldest paper that is forced to publish from abroad as President Daniel Ortega tightens his grip on power.

Since 2021, following the imprisonment and expulsion of its leaders from the country as well as the confiscation of its assets, La Prensa has continued to inform the Nicaraguan population online, with most of its team in exile and operating from Costa Rica, Spain, Mexico, Germany, and the United States.