Nicaragua under Ortega

Daniel Ortega has ruled Nicaragua since 2007 and has gradually expanded his power. After the mass protests of 2018, which were bloodily suppressed, he had opposition figures imprisoned or driven into exile, shut down the media and civil society, and won repeated elections that international observers judged to be rigged. In 2025, a constitutional reform made his wife Rosario Murillo co-president and extended the term of office to six years. On July 19, 2026, Ortega declared at the celebration of the anniversary of the Sandinista revolution that the country would no longer hold elections, justifying it with putschists allegedly steered by the US.

Associated Press (Tico Times) · Al Jazeera · CNN