NPR's Eyder Peralta recently visited Nicaragua for the first time in a decade, gaining rare access to a nation that is hostile to journalists and known as the Western Hemisphere's newest dictatorship.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is running for a fourth consecutive term to remain leader of the Central American country in elections that critics and U.S. officials have labeled a "sham."

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's government insists the country has low numbers of cases and deaths from the pandemic. A grassroots group is working to reveal the true impact is far worse.