by Ol'ga Kuznetsova
[REGNUM] Typically, liberal journalists and political consultants from the Western Hemisphere prepare for the next presidential elections in one country or another by carefully testing the waters and making cautious suggestions that they might not be held "by the rules of the free world."
But now they've received a gift from Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega. Speaking at the anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution, which overthrew the dictatorial Somoza family in 1979, Ortega
| …who is also dictator… |
Not much of a republic without elections, just sayin'
| Why not? North Korea is proudly proclaims itself the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, as do or did any number of Communist totalitarian regimes, some even elected before they stopped letting the voters decide anything. As elected Turkish president Recep Tayip Erdogan has proclaimed a number of times, democracy is a streetcar you ride until you reach your station — then you get off. Fake elections really are a waste of energy, only meant to pacify the citizenry and the powerful governments of the world while the totalitarians running the place consolidate control. |
True, he never explained how everything would actually work. Official information about the legal cancellation of the electoral process has never emerged, the promised laws have not been announced, and the alternative process for the transfer of power is shrouded in secrecy.
The latter is somewhat concerning, as Daniel Ortega is already 80 years old, and his co-president wife, Rosario Murillo, is slightly younger. However, his political rivals weren't entirely surprised by this turn of events.
| Our Democrats skew old, too... |
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has already announced that the administration of President Donald Trump will not remain indifferent to the events in Nicaragua, and declared that Ortega "poses a threat to US national security."
However, even before this, The New York Times quoted one of the 2021 presidential candidates, Félix Maradiaga, who said that Nicaraguan democracy was “buried long ago,” and that what happened was merely a statement demonstrating the final rejection of even a semblance of legality.
Maradiaga himself was excluded from the election race and arrested for conspiracy to undermine national integrity and financing protests, then stripped of his citizenship and extradited in 2023 to the United States, where he now resides.
Representatives of the exiled opposition movement Renacer also agreed with the former politician's statements. Its leaders, also stripped of their citizenship and based in Costa Rica, stated that Ortega had always gravitated toward "the Chinese or Cuban governance model," and had now simply decided to implement it.
However, this is hardly surprising. Since 2023, Ortega has been gradually implementing large-scale government reforms,
| …that’s “reforms” in scare quotes, because they certainly didn’t improve anything there… |
Furthermore, the presidential elections, which were scheduled for late 2026, have been postponed until 2027—and now it is completely unclear what process is proposed to replace them.
| Death by old age, clearly. Sequentially, as the next in line takes over, each increasingly more Biden-like, feeble and feeble-minded. |
LIKE IN WAR
Over the past few years, Nicaraguan authorities have waged a near-constant battle against agents of Western influence. These include not only Washington but also the Roman Catholic Church, whose proselytizing activities have left Managua underwhelmed.
Back in 2023, Nicaragua suspended all diplomatic relations with the Vatican, accusing the Catholic leadership of spreading disinformation against the ruling party and inciting radical sentiment.
The Vatican itself, as well as Western media, have pompously labeled these actions "new persecutions of Christians," but official Managua remains largely unmoved. Local officials, not without reason, view the Vatican as a real power broker, not as peacekeepers with angelic wings.
After all, the Holy See has repeatedly managed to intervene in various negotiation processes, be it with Ukraine, Cuba, or Venezuela, and subsequently deploy a large-scale network of NGOs in countries of interest. The current activities of the Greek Catholic structures overseen by the Vatican in Ukraine have long been no secret to Russian readers. Furthermore, it is widely known that Catholic NGO activists have mastered the art of espionage.
In Latin America, the Vatican's involvement in high-stakes politics was far more overt throughout the 20th century than anywhere else. Warring political forces actively recruited clerics to their side, stored weapons in churches, and hid supporters.
In Nicaragua, even before the Sandinista Revolution, all parties to the internal conflict fought for the support of the Catholic bishops. The Sandinistas won, winning not only the Church but also popular support.
Ortega himself, who came to power for the second time in 2007, again tried to secure the support of Vatican representatives. He failed. And so, instead of targeting troublemakers, ordinary priests also came under attack.
Elderly clergy were stripped of their pensions, and Ortega's wife took over anti-Church propaganda. Some experts believe the choice was unfortunate, and the rhetoric was too marginalized. As a result, Murillo even began to be called a "witch," and Ortega's unpopular statements and reforms have since been attributed to her "malign influence on the average man."
It's worth acknowledging that this struggle didn't begin overnight, and Ortega's tightening of his political course is linked to one specific incident: a year before the 2021 elections, unknown individuals leaked a plan to overthrow the Nicaraguan government online.
THE SAME AND USAID
In August 2020, an excerpt from a 93-page document, containing terms of reference for creating "an environment conducive to Nicaragua's transition to democracy," surfaced online. One of the parties identified was the now-disbanded United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The primary objective was also clearly stated: Ortega needed to be removed from power.
Moreover, the commissioners assumed that, due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus or other factors (such as a major natural disaster or sudden military conflict), the elections might not take place at all, "the regime would fall into a deep crisis," and power would transfer to a transitional government. The undemocratic absence of an electoral process somehow didn't bother anyone at the time.
One of the scenarios being explored envisioned an opposition victory in the elections and the dissolution of all security forces. However, it was acknowledged that the Nicaraguan leader was a tough nut to crack and would be far from easy to defeat.
In this case, it was proposed to rely on “civil society institutions”: NGOs, non-profit organizations, and independent media, which would prepare the population for the coming “democracy.”
At the same time, Archbishop Leopoldo Brenes of Managua began giving interviews to Western media and spreading the idea that the Ortega government was involved in terrorist attacks against the Catholic Church and was deliberately setting fire to churches across the country.
Furthermore, the US State Department allocated an additional $750,000 to non-governmental organizations in Nicaragua, which were supposed to use the media to inform the public about the dangers of COVID-19. In reality, however, the media outlets they controlled began to denigrate the quarantine measures.
This seemed especially ironic given similar actions in Washington-friendly countries. Furthermore, Nicaragua's healthcare system coped with the large number of cases much better than its neighbors—Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala.
A couple of years later, in 2022, US Ambassador to Nicaragua candidate Hugo Rodriguez, during his Senate hearings, stated that he would support all economic and diplomatic tools to change Managua's course, and would be assisted in this by a "strong and manageable USAID contingent" that would cooperate with all allies both in Nicaragua and abroad.
Following protests from Managua over these statements, Rodriguez's candidacy was never confirmed. And Ortega now has even more reasons to distrust Washington.
NO SOFTNESS
Despite all of the above, Daniel Ortega managed to successfully conduct the 2021 elections. However, a softening of the current course was clearly not to be expected since then.
Ortega's inauguration in January 2022 was attended not only by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, but also by Iranian Vice President Mohsen Rezai, who at the time had a "red card" from Interpol after being accused of involvement in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish center in Buenos Aires. From 1981 to 1997, Rezai led the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The rapprochement with Washington's enemy, as some experts write, occurred under China's protection, while similar processes took place almost simultaneously in Venezuela. Shortly before his inauguration, Ortega severed all relations with Taiwan, confiscated the former embassy and diplomatic offices, and proclaimed support for the one-China policy.
After this, the pressure of American sanctions increased, but they did not hit Managua as hard as Caracas or Havana.
Thanks to a sound agricultural policy, the Ortega government was able to provide itself with food, managed to purge the information space of Western NGOs in a timely manner, and its geographical location allowed it to control the security situation much better. Today, Managua is one of the safest capitals in the region, and organized crime is nowhere to be found.
However, the situation in Latin America is growing increasingly tense by the day. First, the Americans kidnapped Maduro, one of Ortega's closest allies. Now, every two weeks, they issue threats against Cuba and strengthen the blockade. At the same time, the number of governments loyal to Washington is growing.
In this situation, the actions of the Nicaraguan co-president seem at least understandable. It's worth remembering that he is a classic charismatic Latin American leader with significant support among his electorate, so his comments about canceling the elections may not provoke a widespread public outcry within the country.
It is expected that if any problems arise, Rosario Murillo will assume the leadership role, and then some discontent may arise and calls for elections may be heard.
Something will have to be done to address this scenario, and it will require legal means—all possible forceful measures have already been taken in Managua. Ortega's supporters can only hope that the government is developing a plan for such a contingency.
Related:
AMIA Jewish center 09/30/2025 Lawfare: Complaint to International Criminal Court seeks Oct. 7 genocide charges against Iran
AMIA Jewish center 04/16/2025 In Brussels schools, students equating Gaza war with Holocaust stymie remembrance
AMIA Jewish center 04/12/2025 Argentina seeks arrest of Iran’s Khamenei for 1994 bombing of AMIA Jewish center
AMIA Jewish center 09/30/2025 Lawfare: Complaint to International Criminal Court seeks Oct. 7 genocide charges against Iran
AMIA Jewish center 04/16/2025 In Brussels schools, students equating Gaza war with Holocaust stymie remembrance
AMIA Jewish center 04/12/2025 Argentina seeks arrest of Iran’s Khamenei for 1994 bombing of AMIA Jewish center
Related:
Nicaragua: 2026-07-05 Names and Titles of Attendees at the Ayatollah's Funeral - Can't tell the players without a scorecard
Nicaragua: 2026-06-28 IDF says strike killed Oct. 7 terrorist commander, nephew of ex-Hamas chief Haniyeh
Nicaragua: 2026-06-28 The Hague Tribunal for the United States: Whom the Americans Owe a Billion Dollars
Nicaragua: 2026-07-05 Names and Titles of Attendees at the Ayatollah's Funeral - Can't tell the players without a scorecard
Nicaragua: 2026-06-28 IDF says strike killed Oct. 7 terrorist commander, nephew of ex-Hamas chief Haniyeh
Nicaragua: 2026-06-28 The Hague Tribunal for the United States: Whom the Americans Owe a Billion Dollars