Daniel Ortega

José Daniel Ortega Saavedra (Template:IPAc-en; Template:IPA; born 11 November 1945) is a Nicaraguan politician and dictator<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> who has been the co-president of Nicaragua since 18 February 2025, alongside his wife Rosario Murillo. He was the 54th and 58th president of Nicaragua from 1985 to 1990 and from 2007 to 2025. He previously led Nicaragua as the first Coordinator of the Junta of National Reconstruction from 1979 to 1985.

Ortega came to prominence with the overthrow and exile of US-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1979 during the Nicaraguan Revolution. As a leader in the Sandinista National Liberation Front (Template:Langx, FSLN) Ortega became leader of the ruling Junta of National Reconstruction. A Marxist–Leninist, Ortega pursued a program of nationalization, land reform, wealth redistribution, and literacy programs during his first period in office. Ortega's government was responsible for the forced displacement of 10,000 indigenous people. In 1984, Ortega won Nicaragua's first ever free and fair presidential election with over 60% of the vote as the FSLN's candidate.<ref name=":1122">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> During his first term, he implemented policies to achieve leftist reforms across Nicaragua. Throughout the 1980s, Ortega's government faced a rebellion by US-backed rebels, known as the Contras. After a presidency marred by conflict and economic collapse, Ortega was defeated in the 1990 Nicaraguan general election by Violeta Chamorro.

Ortega was an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 1996 and 2001 but won the 2006 Nicaraguan general election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In office, he allied with fellow Latin American socialists. In contrast to his previous political career, his second administration abandoned most of his earlier leftist principles, alienating many of his former revolutionary allies, alongside the students and business leaders he also alienated.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Under his tenure, Nicaragua has experienced democratic backsliding.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> In June 2018, organizations such as Amnesty International and the Organization of American States reported that Ortega had engaged in a violent oppression campaign against anti-government protests.<ref name="Amnesty">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite press release</ref> The violent crackdown and subsequent constriction of civil liberties have led to waves of emigration to neighboring Costa Rica, with more than 30,000 Nicaraguans filing for asylum in that country.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

His government jailed many potential rival candidates in the 2021 Nicaraguan general election,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> including Cristiana Chamorro Barrios. Ortega's government also imprisoned other opponents, such as former allies Dora María Téllez and Hugo Torres Jiménez.<ref name="nation100821">Template:Cite news</ref> In August 2021, Nicaragua cancelled the operating permits of six US and European NGOs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Many critics of the Ortega government, including opposition leaders, journalists and members of civil society, fled the country in mid-2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In his fourth term, Ortega ordered the closure of several NGOs, universities, and newspapers,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and resumed his repression of the Catholic Church after a brief rapprochement,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> imprisoning prelate Rolando José Álvarez Lagos.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life

Early childhood

Ortega was born in La Libertad in Chontales Department, Nicaragua,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> into a working-class family. His parents, Daniel Ortega Cerda and Lidia Saavedra, were opposed to the regime of Anastasio Somoza Debayle. Ortega's mother was imprisoned by Somoza's National Guard for being in possession of "love letters", which police said were coded political missives. Ortega and his two brothers grew up to become revolutionaries. His late brother Humberto Ortega was a former general, military leader, and published writer, and the third brother Camilo Ortega died fighting the Somoza regime in 1978. They had a sister, Germania, who died.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Juigalpa and Managua

Seeking stable employment, the family migrated from La Libertad to the provincial capital of Juigalpa, and then to a middle-class neighborhood in Managua.Template:Sfn In Managua, Ortega and his brother studied at the upper-middle class high school, the LaSalle Institute, where Ortega was classmates with Arnoldo Aleman, who would go on to be mayor of Managua (1990–1995) and later President of Nicaragua (1997–2002). Ortega's father Daniel Ortega Cedra detested US military intervention in Nicaragua and Washington's support for the Somoza government. He imparted this anti-American sentiment to his sons.Template:Sfn

Early political activity

From an early age, Ortega opposed Nicaragua's president Anastasio Somoza Debayle, and became involved in the underground movement against his government. Ortega and his brother Humberto formed the Insurrectionist, or Tercerista (Third Way) faction, culminating in the Nicaraguan Revolution. After the overthrow and exile of Somoza Debayle's government, Ortega became leader of the ruling multi-partisan Junta of National Reconstruction.

Ortega was first arrested for political activities at the age of 15,<ref name="RT">Template:Cite news</ref> and quickly joined the then-underground Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) in 1963.<ref name="LP">Template:Cite news</ref> In 1964, Ortega travelled to Guatemala, where the police arrested him and turned him over to the Nicaraguan National Guard.Template:Sfn After his release from detainment, Ortega arranged the assassination of his torturer, Guardsman Gonzalo Lacayo, in August 1967.Template:Sfn

Imprisonment

He was imprisoned in 1967 for taking part in armed robbery of a branch of the Bank of America. He told collaborators that they should be killed if they did not take part in the robbery.<ref name="LO">Template:Cite news</ref> Ortega was released in late 1974, along with other Sandinista prisoners, in exchange for Somocista hostages. While imprisoned at the El Modelo jail, just outside Managua, Ortega wrote poems, one of which he titled "I Never Saw Managua When Miniskirts Were in Fashion".<ref name="LO"/> During his imprisonment, Ortega was tortured.<ref name=":0">Bernard Diederich, Somoza and the Legacy of U.S. Involvement in Central America, p. 85.</ref> While he was incarcerated at El Modelo, his mother helped stage protests and hunger strikes for political prisoners; this resulted in improving the treatment of incarcerated Sandinistas.Template:Sfn

Exile in Cuba

Upon release in 1974, Ortega was exiled to Cuba. There he received training in guerrilla warfare from Fidel Castro's Marxist–Leninist government. He later returned secretly to Nicaragua.<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

Sectional division within the FSLN

In the late 1970s, divisions over the FSLN's campaign against Somoza led Ortega and his brother Humberto to form the Insurrectionist, or Tercerista (Third Way) faction.<ref name=":72">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> The Terceristas sought to combine the distinct guerrilla war strategies of the two other factions, Tomás Borge's Guerra Prolongada Popular (GPP, or Prolonged People's War), and Jaime Wheelock's Proletarian Tendency.<ref name="FSLNPostCollapse">Template:Cite journal</ref> The Ortega brothers forged alliances with a wide array of anti-Somoza forces, including Catholic and Protestant activists, and other non-Marxist civil society groups.Template:Sfn The Terceristas became the most effective faction in wielding political and military strength, and their push for FSLN solidarity received the support of revolutionary leaders such as Fidel Castro.<ref name="FSLNPostCollapse"/>

Marriage and family

Ortega married Rosario Murillo in 1979 in a secret ceremony.<ref name="RT" /> They moved to Costa Rica with her three children from a previous marriage.<ref name="LO" /> Ortega remarried Murillo in 2005 in order to have the marriage recognized by the Catholic Church, as part of his effort to reconcile with the church. The couple has eight children,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> three of them together.<ref name="RT"/> Murillo serves as the Ortega government's spokeswoman and a government minister, among other positions.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Ortega adopted stepdaughter Zoilamérica Ortega Murillo in 1986, through a court case.<ref name=envio1567>Envio, March 2002, No 248 Case 12,230: Zoilamérica Narváez vs. the Nicaraguan State Template:Webarchive</ref> In 1998, she accused him of sexually abusing her as a child.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref name="GUARD16">Template:Cite news</ref>

Sandinista revolution and first presidency (1979–1990)

File:Nicaragua inflation rate 1980-1993.webp

Nicaragua inflation rate 1980–1993

When Somoza was overthrown by the FSLN in July 1979, Ortega became a member of the five-person Junta of National Reconstruction, which included Sandinista militant Moisés Hassan, novelist Sergio Ramírez, businessman Alfonso Robelo, and Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, the widow of a murdered journalist. In September 1979, United States President Carter hosted Ortega at the White House, and warned him against arming other Central American leftist guerrilla movements.Template:Sfn At the time, Ortega spoke truthfully when he denied Sandinista involvement in neighboring countries.Template:Sfn When Ortega questioned the Americans about CIA support for anti-Sandinista groups, Carter and Deputy Secretary of State Warren Christopher said the reports were false.Template:Sfn After the meeting, Carter asked Congress for $75 million in aid to Nicaragua, contingent on the Sandinista government's promise not to aid other guerrillas.Template:Sfn

The FSLN came to dominate the junta, Robelo and Chamorro resigned, and in 1981 Ortega became the coordinator of the Junta.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> As the only member of the FSLN National Directorate in the Junta, he was the effective leader of the country. After attaining power, the FSLN embarked upon an ambitious programme of social reform. They arranged to redistribute Template:Convert of land to about 100,000 families; launched a literacy drive, and made health care improvements that ended polio through mass vaccinations, and reduced the frequency of other treatable diseases.<ref>Mastering Modern World History by Norman Lowe, second edition</ref> The Sandinista nationalization efforts affected mostly banks and industries owned by the extended Somoza family.Template:Sfn More than half of all farms, businesses, and industries remained in private hands. The revolutionary government wanted to preserve a mixed economy and support private sector investment.Template:Sfn The Superior Council of Private Enterprise (COSEP) opposed the Sandinistas' economic reform.Template:Sfn The main organization of Nicaraguan big business was composed of prosperous families from the Pacific coast cities, who dominated commerce and banking.<ref>Baumeister, Eduardo. "The politics of land reform" in Template:Harvnb, p. 250.</ref> Ortega took a very hard line against opposition to his policies: On 21 February 1981, the Sandinista army killed 7 Miskito Indians and wounded 17.<ref name="OAS">Template:Cite book</ref>

Ortega's administration forced displacement of many of the indigenous population: 10,000 individuals had been moved by 1982.<ref name="OAS" /> Thousands of Indians fled to take refuge across the border in Honduras, and Ortega's government imprisoned 14,000 in Nicaragua. Anthropologist Gilles Bataillon termed this "politics of ethnocide" in Nicaragua.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The Indians formed two rebel groups – the Misura and Misurasata. They were joined in the north by Nicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN) and in the south by former Sandinistas and peasantry who, under the leadership of Edén Pastora, were resisting forced collectivization.<ref name="OAS" />

In 1980 the Sandinista government launched the massive Nicaraguan Literacy Campaign and said the illiteracy rate fell from 50% to 13% in the span of five months. Robert F. Arnove said the figures were excessive because many "unteachable" illiterates were omitted from the statistics, and many people declared literate were found to be unable to read or write a simple sentence. Richard Kraft said that even if the figures were exaggerated, the "accomplishment is without precedent in educational history". In 1980, UNESCO awarded Nicaragua the Nadezhda K. Krupskaya prize in recognition of its efforts.<ref>Template:Cite report Paper commissioned for the EFA Global Monitoring Report 2006, Literacy for Life.</ref>Template:Unreliable source? The FSLN also focused on improving the Nicaraguan health system, particularly through vaccination campaigns and the construction of public hospitals. These actions reduced child mortality by half,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> to 40 deaths per thousand.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 1982, the World Health Organization deemed Nicaragua a model for primary health care.Template:Sfn During this period, Nicaragua won the UNESCO prize for exceptional health progress.<ref name="nation100821"/>

In 1981, United States President Ronald Reagan accused the FSLN of joining with Soviet-backed Cuba in supporting Marxist revolutionary movements in other Latin American countries, such as El Salvador. People within the Reagan administration authorized the CIA to begin financing, arming and training rebels as anti-Sandinista guerrillas, some of whom were former officers from Somoza's National Guard. These were known collectively as the Contras. This resulted in one of the largest political scandals in US history, (the Iran–Contra affair). Oliver North and several members of the Reagan administration defied the Boland Amendment, selling arms to Iran and using the proceeds in order to secretly fund the Contras.

The Contra war claimed 30,000 lives in Nicaragua.<ref>Thomas Walker, Nicaragua: Living in the Shadow of the Eagle, 4th Ed. (Westview Press, 2003)</ref> The tactics used by the Sandinista government to fight the Contras have been widely condemned for their suppression of civil rights. On 15 March 1982, the junta declared a state of siege, which allowed it to close independent radio stations, suspend the right of association, and limit the freedom of trade unions. Nicaragua's Permanent Commission on Human Rights condemned Sandinista human rights violations, accusing them of killing and forcibly disappearing thousands of persons in the first few years of the war.<ref>John Norton Moore, The Secret War in Central America (University Publications of America, 1987), p. 143</ref><ref>Roger Miranda and William Ratliff, The Civil War in Nicaragua (Transaction, 1993), p. 193.</ref>

File:Felipe González junto a Fidel Castro, Daniel Ortega y Alfonso Guerra en el palacio de la Moncloa. Pool Moncloa. 16 de febrero de 1984.jpeg

Ortega (far right) with Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González, Cuban President Fidel Castro and Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Alfonso Guerra in Madrid, 1984

At the 1984 general election Ortega won the presidency with 67% of the vote and took office on 10 January 1985. In the early phases of the campaign, Ortega enjoyed many institutional advantages, and used the full power of the press, police, and Supreme Electoral Council against the fractured opposition.Template:Sfn In the weeks before the November election, Ortega gave a U.N. speech denouncing talks held in Rio de Janeiro on electoral reform.Template:Sfn But by 22 October, the Sandinistas signed an accord with opposition parties to reform electoral and campaign laws, making the process more fair and transparent.<ref>McConnell, Shelley A. "The uncertain evolution of the electoral system", in Template:Harvnb, p. 127.</ref> While campaigning, Ortega promoted the Sandinistas' achievements, and at a rally said that "Democracy is literacy, democracy is land reform, democracy is education and public health."Template:Sfn International observers judged the election to be the first free election held in the country in more than half a century. A report by an Irish governmentary delegation stated: "The electoral process was carried out with total integrity. The seven parties participating in the elections represented a broad spectrum of political ideologies." The general counsel of New York's Human Rights Commission described the election as "free, fair and hotly contested". A study by the US Latin American Studies Association (LASA) concluded that the FSLN (Sandinista Front) "did little more to take advantage of its incumbency than incumbent parties everywhere (including the U.S.) routinely do". However, the Reagan administration described the elections as "a Soviet-style sham", and contemporary North-American press coverage tended to cast doubt on the election's legitimacy.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Felipe González comparece en rueda de prensa con el presidente de Nicaragua. Pool Moncloa. 26 de abril de 1989.jpeg

Ortega and Spanish Prime Minister Felipe González in 1989

Thirty-three per cent of the Nicaraguan voters cast ballots for one of six opposition parties—three to the right of the Sandinistas, three to the left—which had campaigned with the aid of government funds and free TV and radio time. Two conservative parties captured a combined 23% of the vote. They held rallies across the country (a few of which were disrupted by FSLN supporters) and blasted the Sandinistas in harsh terms. Most foreign and independent observers noted this pluralism in debunking the Reagan administration charge—ubiquitous in the US media—that it was a "Soviet-style sham" election.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> SomeTemplate:Which opposition parties boycotted the election, allegedly under pressure from US embassy officials, and so it was denounced as being unfair by the Reagan administration.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=sanctions>Template:Cite news</ref> Reagan thus maintained that he was justified to continue supporting what he referred to as the Contras' "democratic resistance".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The illegal<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> intervention of the Contras continued (albeit covertly) after Ortega's democratic election. Peace talks between five Central American heads of state in July 1987 led to the signing of the Central American Peace Accords, and the beginning of a roadmap to the end of the conflict. In 1988, the Contras first entered into peace talks with the Sandinista government, although the violence continued, as did their US support. Despite US opposition,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> disarmament of the Contras began in 1989.

In opposition (1990–2007)

In the 1990 presidential election, Ortega lost his reelection bid to Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, his former colleague in the junta. Chamorro was supported by the US and a 14-party anti-Sandinista alliance known as the National Opposition Union (Unión Nacional Oppositora, UNO), an alliance that ranged from conservatives and liberals to communists. She ran an effective campaign, presenting herself as the peace candidate and promising to end the US-funded Contra War if she won.<ref>Anderson, Leslie E. and Lawrence C. Dodd, Learning Democracy: Citizen Engagement and Electoral Choice in Nicaragua, 1990–2001, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2005, esp Chapter 3.</ref> Ortega campaigned on the slogan, "Everything Will Be Better", and promised that, with the Contra war over, he could focus on the nation's recovery.Template:Sfn Contrary to what most observers expected,<ref>Alma Guillermoprieto, The Heart That Bleeds: Latin America Now, pp. 23–25</ref> Chamorro shocked Ortega and won the election. Chamorro's UNO coalition garnered 54% of the vote, and won 51 of the 92 seats in the National Assembly.<ref>Marti i Puig, Salvador. "The FSLN and Sandinismo", in Template:Harvnb, p. 30.</ref> Immediately after the loss, the Sandinistas tried to maintain unity around their revolutionary posture. In Ortega's concession speech the following day he vowed to keep "ruling from below" a reference to the power that the FSLN still wielded in various sectors. He also stressed his belief that the Sandinistas had the goal of bringing "dignity" to Latin America, and not necessarily to hold on to government posts. In 1991, Ortega said elections were "an instrument to reaffirm" the FSLN's "political and ideological positions", and also "confront capitalism".Template:Sfn However, the electoral loss led to pronounced divisions in the FSLN. Some members adopted more pragmatic positions, and sought to transform the FSLN into a modern social democratic party engaged in national reconciliation and class cooperation. Ortega and other party insiders found common ground with the radicals, who still promoted anti-imperialism and class conflict to achieve social change.<ref name="FSLNPostCollapse" />

Possible explanations for his loss include that the Nicaraguan people were disenchanted with the Ortega government as well as the fact that already in November 1989, the White House had announced that the economic embargo against Nicaragua would continue unless Violeta Chamorro won.<ref>"Bush Vows to End Embargo if Chamorro Wins", The Washington Post, 9 November 1989</ref> Also, there had been reports of intimidation from the side of the contras,<ref>Template:Cite report</ref> with a Canadian observer mission stating that 42 people were killed by the contras in "election violence" in October 1989.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> This led many commentators to assume that Nicaraguans voted against the Sandinistas out of fear of a continuation of the contra war and economic deprivation.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

From 19 to 21 July 1991, the FSLN held a National Congress to mend the rifts between members and form a new overarching political program. The effort failed to unite the party, and intense debates over the internal governance of the FSLN continued. The pragmatists, led by the former vice president Sergio Ramirez, formed the basis of a "renovating" faction, and supported collaboration with other political forces to preserve the rule of law in Nicaragua. Under the leadership of Ortega and Tomás Borge, the radicals regrouped into the "principled" faction, and branded themselves the Izquierda Democratica (ID), or Democratic Left (DL).<ref name="FSLNAdaptation">Template:Cite journal</ref> The DL fought the Chamorro government with disruptive labor strikes and demonstrations, and renewed calls for the revolutionary reconstruction of Nicaraguan society.Template:Sfn During the 20–23 May 1994, extraordinary congress, Ortega ran against a fellow National Directorate member, Henry Ruiz, for the position of party secretary-general. Ortega was elected with 287 to Ruiz's 147 votes, and the DL secured the most dominant role in the FSLN.<ref name="MiP35">Marti i Puig, Salvador. "The FSLN and Sandinismo", in Template:Harvnb, p. 35.</ref>

On 9 September 1994, Ortega gained more power after taking over Sergio Ramirez's seat in the Asamblea Sandinista (Sandinista Assembly).<ref name="FSLNAdaptation"/> Ramirez had been chief of the FSLN's parliamentary caucus since 1990, but Ortega came to oppose his actions in the National Assembly, setting the stage for Ramirez's removal. Historic leaders, such as Ernesto Cardenal, a former minister of culture in the Sandinista government, rejected Ortega's consolidation of power: "My resignation from the FSLN has been caused by the kidnapping of the party carried out by Daniel Ortega and the group he heads."<ref name="MiP35"/> The party formally split on 8 January 1995, when Ramirez and a number of prominent Sandinista officials quit.<ref name="FSLNAdaptation"/>

Ortega ran for election again, in October 1996 and November 2001, but lost on both occasions to Arnoldo Alemán and Enrique Bolaños, respectively. In these elections, a key issue was the allegation of corruption. In Ortega's last days as president, through a series of legislative acts known as "The Piñata", estates that had been seized by the Sandinista government (some valued at millions and even billions of US dollars) became the private property of various FSLN officials, including Ortega himself.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In the 1996 campaign, Ortega faced the Liberal Alliance (Alianza Liberal), headed by Arnoldo Aleman Lacayo, a former mayor of Managua. The Sandinistas softened their anti-imperialist rhetoric, with Ortega calling the US "our great neighbor", and vowing to cooperate "within a framework of respect, equality, and justice". The image change failed, as Aleman's Liberal Alliance came first with 51.03% of the vote, while Ortega's FSLN secured 37.75%.Template:Sfn

Ortega's policies became more moderate during his time in opposition, and he gradually changed much of his former Marxist–Leninist stance in favor of an agenda of democratic socialism. His Roman Catholic faith has become more public in recent years as well, leading Ortega to embrace a variety of socially conservative policies; in 2006 the FSLN endorsed a strict law banning all abortions in Nicaragua.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In the run-up to the 2006 elections, Ortega displayed his ties to the Catholic Church by renewing his marriage vows before Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo.Template:Sfn

Ortega was instrumental in creating the controversial strategic pact between the FSLN and the Constitutional Liberal Party (Partido Liberal Constitucionalista, PLC). The controversial alliance of Nicaragua's two major parties is aimed at distributing power between the PLC and FSLN, and preventing other parties from rising. After sealing the agreement in January 2000, the two parties controlled the three key institutions of the state: the Comptroller General of the Republic, the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Electoral Council.<ref name="FSLNAdaptation"/> "El Pacto", as it is known in Nicaragua, is said to have personally benefited former presidents Ortega and Alemán greatly, while constraining then-president Bolaños. One of the key accords of the pact was to lower the ratio necessary to win a presidential election in the first round from 45% to 35%, a change in electoral law that would become decisive in Ortega's favor in the 2006 elections.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

At the Fourth Ordinary Congress of the FSLN, held 17–18 March 2002, Ortega eliminated the National Directorate (DN). Once the main collective leadership body of the party, with nine members, the DN no longer met routinely, and only three historic members remained. Instead, the body just supported decisions already made by the secretary-general. Ortega sidelined party officials and other members while empowering his own informal circle, known as the ring of iron.<ref name="FSLNAdaptation"/>

2001 presidential election

Template:Main In the November 2001 general elections, Ortega lost his third successive presidential election, this time to Enrique Bolaños of the Constitutionalist Liberal Party.

Under Ortega's direction, the FSLN formed the broad National Convergence (Convergencia Nacional) coalition in opposition to the PLC. Ortega abandoned the revolutionary tone of the past, and infused his campaign with religious imagery, giving thanks in speeches to "God and the Revolution" for the post-1990 democracy, and said a Sandinista victory would enable the Nicaraguan people to "pass through the sea and reach the Promised Land".Template:Sfn The US opposed Ortega's candidacy from the beginning. The US ambassador even appeared with the PLC's Enrique Bolaños while distributing food aid.<ref>McConnell, Shelley A. "The uncertain evolution of the electoral system", in Template:Harvnb, p. 142.</ref> The 11 September 2001, terrorist attacks doomed Ortega's chances, as the threat of a US invasion became an issue. Bolanos convinced many Nicaraguans that the renewed US hostility towards terrorism would endanger their country if the openly anti-US Ortega prevailed.Template:Sfn Bolanos ended up with 56.3% of the vote, and Ortega won 42.3%.<ref>McConnell, Shelley A. "The uncertain evolution of the electoral system", in Template:Harvnb, p. 143.</ref>

2006 presidential election

Template:Main In 2006, Daniel Ortega was elected president with 38% of the vote. This occurred despite the fact that the breakaway Sandinista Renovation Movement (MRS) continued to oppose the FSLN, running former Mayor of Managua, Herty Lewites as its candidate for president. Ortega personally attacked Lewites' Jewish background, compared him to Judas, and warned he "could end up hanged."Template:Sfn However, Lewites died several months before the elections.

Ortega emphasized peace and reconciliation in his campaign, and selected a former Contra leader, Jaime Morales Carazo, as his running mate.Template:Sfn The FSLN also won 38 seats in the congressional elections, becoming the party with the largest representation in parliament. The split in the Constitutionalist Liberal Party helped allow the FSLN to become the largest party in Congress; however, the Sandinista vote had a minuscule split between the FSLN and MRS, and that the liberal party combined is larger than the Frente Faction. In 2010, several liberal congressmen accused the FSLN of attempting to buy votes to pass constitutional reforms that would allow Ortega to run for office for the 6th time since 1984.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Second presidency (2007–present)

According to Tim Rogers, writing in The Atlantic, during his second term as president, Ortega took "full control of all four branches of government, state institutions, the military, and police", and in the process dismantled "Nicaragua's institutional democracy".<ref name="Rogers-2018"/> Frances Robles wrote that Ortega took control "every aspect of government ... the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, the armed forces, the judiciary, the police and the prosecutor's office".<ref name="nyt-Robles-24-12-2018"/> In its 2019 World Report, Human Rights Watch wrote that Ortega "aggressively dismantled all institutional checks on presidential power".<ref name="hrw-wr-2019">Template:Cite web</ref> Many journalists and governments criticize Ortega and label him a dictator.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

2008 elections

In June 2008, the Nicaraguan Supreme Court disqualified the MRS and the Conservative Party from participation in municipal elections.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In November 2008, the Supreme Electoral Council received national and international criticism following irregularities in municipal elections, but agreed to review results for Managua only, while the opposition demanded a nationwide review.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> For the first time since 1990, the Council decided not to allow national or international observers to witness the election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Instances of intimidation, violence, and harassment of opposition political party members and NGO representatives have been recorded.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Official results show Sandinista candidates winning 94 of the 146 municipal mayoralties, compared to 46 for the main opposition Liberal Constitutional Party (PLC).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The opposition claimed that marked ballots were dumped and destroyed, that party members were refused access to some of the vote counts and that tallies from many polling places were altered.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As a result of the fraud allegations, the European Union suspended $70m of aid, and the US$64m.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

With the late-2000s recession, Ortega in 2011 characterised capitalism as in its "death throes" and portrayed the Bolivarian Alternative for the People of Our America (ALBA) was the most advanced, most Christian and fairest project.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He also said God was punishing the United States with the financial crisis for trying to impose its economic principles on poor countries. "It's incredible that in the most powerful country in the world, which spends billions of dollars on brutal wars ... people do not have enough money to stay in their homes."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Before the National Sandinista Council held in September 2009, Lenin Cerna, the secretary of the party organization, called for diversifying its political strategies. He declared the FSLN's future depended on implementing new plans, "so that the party can advance via new routes and in new ways, always under Ortega's leadership". Ortega gained power over the selection of candidates, allowing him to personally choose all candidates for public office.<ref name="FSLNAdaptation" />

During an interview with David Frost for the Al Jazeera English programme Frost Over the World in March 2009, Ortega suggested that he would like to change the constitution to allow him to run again for president.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In Judicial Decision 504, issued on 19 October 2009, the Supreme Court of Justice of Nicaragua declared portions of Articles 147 and 178 of the Constitution of Nicaragua inapplicable; these provisions concerned the eligibility of candidates for president, vice-president, mayor, and vice-mayor—a decision that had the effect of allowing Ortega to run for reelection in 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

For this decision, the Sandinista magistrates formed the required quorum by excluding the opposition magistrates and replacing them with Sandinista substitutes, violating the Nicaraguan constitution.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Opposing parties, the church and human rights groups in Nicaragua denounced the decision.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Throughout 2010, court rulings gave Ortega greater power over judicial and civil service appointments.<ref name="Thaler2017">Template:Cite journal</ref>

While supporting abortion rights during his presidency during the 1980s, Ortega has since embraced the Catholic Church's position of strong opposition.<ref>Nicaragua brings in abortion ban: Nicaraguan President Enrique Bolaños has signed into law a ban on all abortions, even in cases when a woman's life is judged to be at risk Template:Webarchive 18 November 2006</ref> While non-emergency abortions have long been illegal in Nicaragua, recently even abortions "in the case where the pregnancy endangers the mother's life", otherwise known as therapeutic abortions have been made illegal in the days before the 2006 election, with a six-year prison term in such cases, too—a move supported by Ortega.<ref>Abortion Outlawed in Nicaragua Ten Days Before Controversial Elections Template:Webarchive 27 October 2006</ref>

2011 election

Ortega was re-elected president with a vote on 6 November and confirmation on 16 November 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During the election, the Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) blocked both domestic and international poll observers from multiple polling stations.<ref name="Thaler2017"/> According to the Supreme Electoral Council, Ortega defeated Fabio Gadea, with 63% of the vote.<ref name="Thaler2017"/>

File:Daniel Ortega (cropped).jpg

Ortega in 2013

2014 amendments

In January 2014 the National Assembly, dominated by the FSLN, approved constitutional amendments that abolished term limits for the presidency and allowed a president to run for an unlimited number of five-year terms. While the FSLN claimed the amendments would assure the stability Nicaragua needed to deal with long-term problems, the opposition claimed they were a threat to democracy.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The constitutional reforms also gave Ortega the sole power to appoint military and police commanders.<ref name="Thaler2017"/>

2016 elections

Template:Main As of 2016, Ortega's family owns three of the nine free-to-air television channels in Nicaragua, and controls a fourth (the public Channel 6). Four of the remaining five are controlled by Mexican mogul Ángel González, and are generally considered to be aligned with Ortega's ruling FSLN party. There are no government restrictions on Internet use; the Ortega administration attempted to gain complete control over online media in 2015, but failed due to opposition from civil society, political parties, and private organizations.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In June 2016, the Nicaraguan supreme court ruled to oust Eduardo Montealegre, the leader of the main opposition party, leaving the main opposition coalition with no means of contesting the November 2016 national elections.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In August 2016, Ortega chose his wife, Rosario Murillo, as his vice-presidential running-mate for re-election.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to The Washington Post, figures announced on November 7, 2016, put Daniel Ortega in line for his third consecutive term as president, also being his fourth term overall. The Supreme Electoral Council (CSE) reported Ortega and Murillo won 72.4% of the vote, with 68% turnout.<ref name="Thaler2017"/> The opposition coalition had called the election a "farce" and had called for the boycott of the election. International observers were not allowed to observe the vote. Nevertheless, according to the BBC, Ortega was the most popular candidate by far, possibly due to Nicaragua's stable economic growth and lack of violence compared to its neighbours El Salvador and Honduras in recent years.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Economic situation during presidency

According to Tim Rogers, until the 2018 unrest, as president Ortega presided over "the fastest-growing economy in Central America" and was a "poster child for foreign investment and citizen security in a region known for gangs and unrest".<ref name="Rogers-2018"/> During this time the Ortega government formed an alliance with the Superior Council for Private Enterprise (COSEP), Nicaragua's council of business chambers. However the same unpopular decree which "unilaterally overhauling the social-security tax system"<ref name="Rogers-2018"/> (mentioned below) and precipitated the unrest in April 2018, also broke Ortega's arrangement with COSEP,<ref name="Rogers-2018"/> and along with US sanctions, brought a sharp economic drop that as of mid-2020 is still "crippling" Nicaragua's economy.<ref name="Gallón-cnn-18-6-20"/>

Response to the COVID-19 pandemic

President Ortega's government has been the target of criticism for its lack of a response to the pandemic.<ref name=CNN-4-13-2020>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 14 March 2020, Ortega's government called a massive demonstration called "Love in the Time of COVID-19" as a show of support to him and his government. This occurred in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic which had only recently been officially declared by the WHO.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

According to CNN, as of mid-June 2020, Ortega had "refused to impose strict, preventive quarantine measures seen in neighboring countries" to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.<ref name="Gallón-cnn-18-6-20"/> "Public schools remain open, businesses continue to operate, festivals and cultural events are happening on an almost-weekly basis." The story stated that from mid-March to mid-June six politicians had died, and, according to witnesses, their remains disposed of at night in "express burials" (with police in attendance but "no Mass, no wake and no funeral arrangements", no photographs).<ref name="Gallón-cnn-18-6-20"/> The Ortega government said reports of "express burials" were "false news".<ref name="Gallón-cnn-18-6-20">Template:Cite news</ref> According to AP News "the government threatened to ban" professional baseball players "who refuse to play baseball ... And everyone is warned to keep quiet."<ref name="AP">Template:Cite news</ref> In hospitals "ruling-party activists ensure no information leaks out", and it quotes a doctor (anesthesiologist María Nela Escoto) complaining that in the public hospital where she works "everything is secret. They don't allow suggestions, and you can't question anything because they're watching. It's a very hostile environment."<ref name="AP"/> (At the start of the pandemic, Ortega was out of the public eye for "more than 40 days", and no explanation was given for his absence when he returned.)<ref name="Gallón-cnn-18-6-20"/><ref name=CNN-4-13-2020/>

2018–2022 Nicaraguan protests

In April 2018, student protests over a nature reserve fire expanded to cover an unpopular decree that would have cut social security benefits and increased taxpayer contributions.<ref name="nyt-Robles-24-12-2018"/> The protesters were violently set upon by the state sponsored Sandinista Youth.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Despite attempts by Ortega's government to hide the incident through censorship of all private-owned news outlets, photos and videos of the violence made their way to social media where they sparked outrage and urged more Nicaraguans to join in on the protests.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Tensions escalated quickly, as police began using tear gas canisters and rubber bullets, and eventually live ammunition on unarmed protesters.<ref name="the Miami Herald">Template:Cite news</ref> Authorities were also seen arming Sandinista Youth members with weapons to serve as paramilitary forces.<ref name="the Miami Herald"/> Dozens of student protesters were subsequently killed. Despite the withdrawal of the unpopular decree, the protests continue, with most protesters demanding Ortega's and his cabinet's resignations.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

On 30 May 2018, Nicaragua's Mother's Day, over 300,000 people marched to honor the mothers of students killed in the preceding protests. Despite the attendance of children, mothers and retirees, and lack of any violence by marchers, marchers were attacked in an event dubbed the "Mother's Day Massacre".<ref name="The New York Times">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 16 were killed, and 88 injured, as "police sprayed the crowd with bullets, government sharpshooters positioned on the roof of the national baseball stadium went headhunting with sniper rifles".<ref name="Rogers-2018"/>

In June 2018, Tim Rogers wrote in The Atlantic magazine:

Over the past seven weeks, Ortega's police and paramilitaries have killed more than 120 people, mostly students and other young protesters who are demanding the president's ouster and a return to democracy, according to a human-rights group [CENIDH, Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights]. Police hunt students like enemy combatants. Sandinista Youth paramilitaries, armed and paid by Ortega's party, drive around in pickup trucks attacking protesters. Gangs of masked men loot and burn shops with impunity. Cops wear civilian clothing, and some paramilitaries dress in police uniforms. "This is starting to look more like Syria than Caracas," one Nicaraguan business leader told me.<ref name="Rogers-2018">Template:Cite journal</ref>

By December 3, 22 people were dead and 565 imprisoned. Professionals involved in the protests (lawyers, engineering majors, radio broadcasters and merchants) had been reduced to lives of "ever-changing safe houses, encrypted messaging apps and pseudonyms", with the Ortega government allegedly "hunting us like deer", according to one dissident (Roberto Carlos Membreño Briceño). Human rights organization offices were raided, computers seized and observers expelled.<ref name="nyt-Robles-24-12-2018"/> Observers from the Organization of American States were expelled after releasing a critical investigative report of the government's response to the protests.<ref name="nyt-Robles-24-12-2018"/> The report found the government had progressed from "using tear gas to rubber bullets, then real bullets and finally military firepower like assault rifles and grenade launchers", based on an analysis of videos posted on social media. At least 1,400 people involved in the protests were hurt, although that the number was probably "far higher because most people were too afraid to go to public hospitals, where doctors were fired for treating wounded protesters".<ref name="nyt-Robles-24-12-2018"/> By July 2019 the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch called on the United States to impose sanctions on Ortega "and other top" Nicaraguan officials "implicated" in the crackdown on protests.<ref name="hrw-sanctions-2019">Template:Cite web</ref>

Term extension

On 20 November 2024, Ortega unveiled proposals to amend the Nicaraguan constitution in order to extend his term from five years to six and have his wife and vice president Rosario Murillo declared co-president.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The measures passed in a first reading at the National Assembly on 22 November<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and passed in a second reading on 30 January 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The constitutional reform entered into force on 18 February 2025.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Foreign policy

File:Dmitry Medvedev 18 December 2008-6.jpg

Ortega with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in Russia on 18 December 2008

Soon after the 2006 election, Ortega paid an official visit to Iran and met Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Ortega told the press that the "revolutions of Iran and Nicaragua are almost twin revolutions ... since both revolutions are about justice, liberty, self-determination, and the struggle against imperialism".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 6 March 2008, following the 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis, Ortega announced that Nicaragua was breaking diplomatic ties with Colombia "in solidarity with the Ecuadorian people".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Ortega also stated, "We are not breaking relations with the Colombian people. We are breaking relations with the terrorist policy practiced by Álvaro Uribe's government".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The relations were restored with the resolution at a Rio Group summit held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, on 7 March 2008. At the summit Colombia's Álvaro Uribe, Ecuador's Rafael Correa, Venezuela's Hugo Chávez and Ortega publicly shook hands in a show of good-will. The handshakes, broadcast live throughout Latin America, appeared to signal that a week of military buildups and diplomatic repercussions was over. After the handshakes, Ortega said he would re-establish diplomatic ties with Colombia. Uribe then quipped that he would send him the bill for his ambassador's plane fare.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 25 May 2008, Ortega, upon learning of the death of FARC guerrilla leader Manuel Marulanda in Colombia, expressed condolences to the family of Marulanda and solidarity with the FARC and called Marulanda an extraordinary fighter who battled against profound inequalities in Colombia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The declarations were protested by the Colombian government and criticized in the major Colombian media outlets.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

File:Ortega Lula - ABr 28.07.20102225.JPG

Ortega with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at Itamaraty Palace in Brasília, 28 July 2010.

On 2 September 2008, during ceremonies for the 29th anniversary of the founding of the Nicaraguan army, Ortega announced that "Nicaragua recognizes the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and fully supports the Russian government's position". Ortega's decision made Nicaragua the second country (after Russia) to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia from Georgia.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:01.10 總統與尼加拉瓜總統奧德嘉(José Daniel Ortega Saavedra)雙邊會晤 (32074399712).jpg

Ortega with the president of the Republic of China Tsai Ing-wen, 10 January 2017

Under Ortega's leadership, Nicaragua joined the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas.

When seeking office, Ortega threatened to cut diplomatic recognition with the Republic of China (Taiwan, formerly Nationalist China) in order to restore relations with the Mainland-based People's Republic of China (as in the period from 1985 to 1990) as the legal government of China. But he did not do so. In 2007 Ortega stated that Nicaragua did not accept the One China Policy of the PRC government and that Nicaragua reserved the right to maintain official diplomatic relations with the ROC. He reassured President Chen Shui Bian in 2007 that Nicaragua would not break diplomatic relations with the ROC. He explained that during the Reagan administration the United States imposed sanctions on Nicaragua. But cutting ties with Taipei was a sad and painful decision because of the friendship between Nicaragua and Taiwan's people and government. Ortega met with the ROC President Ma Ying-jeou in 2009 and both agreed to improve the diplomatic ties between both countries.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, with a trade show from China (PRC) in Managua in 2010, he is attempting a two-track policy to get benefits from both sides. In 2016 Nicaragua and China (ROC) signed an air services agreement and Ortega stated that Nicaragua's free trade deal with the ROC had benefited both nations. The ROC increased its investment in Nicaragua.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>Template:Unreliable source? In December 2021, Nicaragua once again switched recognition with the PRC.

In September 2010, after a US report listed Nicaragua as a "major" drug-trafficking centre, with Costa Rica and Honduras, Ortega urged the US Congress and Obama administration to allocate more resources to assist the fight against drug trafficking.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>"transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing" Template:Citation</ref>

During the Libyan Civil War, Ortega was among the very few leaders who spoke out in clear defense of the embattled Muammar Gaddafi.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> During a telephone conversation between the two, Ortega told Gaddafi that he was "waging a great battle to defend his nation"<ref>Al Jazeera (24 February 2011). Template:YouTube</ref> and stated that "it's at difficult times that loyalty and resolve are put to the test."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Ortega has said that Assad's victory in the 2014 election is an important step to "attain peace in Syria and a clear cut evidence that the Syrian people trust their president as a national leader and support his policies which aim at maintaining Syria's sovereignty and unity".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Ortega attended the swearing-in ceremony of Nicolás Maduro for his second term on 10 January 2019.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In an interview with Max Blumenthal in August 2019, Ortega stated that he was open to the idea of Bernie Sanders (who had visited him in 1985) winning the US presidency in 2020 and that Sanders's message "goes in the right direction for the U.S. to become a pole of peace, development, and cooperation".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Environmental policy

In 2016, Daniel Ortega did not sign the Paris Agreement because he felt the deal did not do enough to protect the climate, although he later changed his mind. Moreover, Nicaragua rejected projects of mining of the Canadian group B2 Gold which could represent a threat to the environment.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> According to government estimates, Nicaragua has passed from 25% renewable electricity to 52% between 2007 and 2016.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

International sanctions

United States

In November 2021, Joe Biden signed into law the "Reinforcing Nicaragua's Adherence to Conditions for Electoral Reform Act" (RENACER Act) which extended US sanctions against Nicaragua and gave Biden the power to exclude Nicaragua from the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) and to obstruct multilateral loans to Nicaragua. Venezuela and Russia condemned the new law.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Ukraine

In February 2021, Ukraine's parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, approved economic sanctions against President Ortega and his government. The sanctions were in response to Ortega sending a delegation to Russian-occupied Crimea in November 2020.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Electoral history

1984 general election

Template:Main {{#section:1984 Nicaraguan general election|presidentialresults}}

1990 general election

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1996 general election

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2001 general election

Template:Main {{#section:2001 Nicaraguan general election|presidentialresults}}

2006 general election

Template:Main {{#section:2006 Nicaraguan general election|presidentialresults}}

2011 general election

Template:Main {{#section:2011 Nicaraguan general election|presidentialresults}}

2016 general election

Template:Main {{#section:2016 Nicaraguan general election|presidentialresults}}

2021 general election

Template:Main {{#section:2021 Nicaraguan general election|presidentialresults}}

Criticisms and concerns

Ortega's second presidency has been subject to much criticism and accusations of his becoming a strongman.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The 2018 protests have been pointed to as being symbolic of these tensions.<ref name="Amnesty" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2018, Frances Robles wrote in The New York Times that the "many Ortega adult children manage everything from gasoline distribution to television stations" in Nicaragua.<ref name="nyt-Robles-24-12-2018">Template:Cite newsTemplate:Cbignore</ref>

In the months preceding the November 2021 Nicaraguan general election, Ortega's government arrested many prominent opposition members. As of 23 July, 26 opposition leaders have been imprisoned.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On 24 March 2022, the ambassador Arturo McFields, condemned the Ortega government and requested the release of political prisoners, alluding that the government people were "tired of dictatorship" and that it was not easy to denounce it. As a result, he was dismissed.<ref>Embajador Nicaragua ante rompe dictadura donde sesion vivo abc.es Template:Dead link</ref><ref>[1]Template:Dead link</ref><ref>https://noticiasyprotagonistas.com/actualidad/arturo-mcfields-el-ambassador-que-Template:Dead link I am encouraged to denounce-daniel-ortega-pass-the-15-most-horrible-days-of-my-life/</ref><ref>https://radio-corporacion.com/blogTemplate:Dead link /archives/142943/it-is-the-official-government-of-ortega-removing-arturo-mcfields-as-ambassador-of-nicaragua-at-the-oas/</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The American lawyer Paul Reichler also left his position as representative due to "moral conscience",<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> who felt that the president "was no longer the Daniel Ortega whom he respected so much and served with so much pride". Reichler found it inconceivable that someone like Ortega would have mercilessly suppressed peaceful demonstrations and imprisoned his former colleagues in inhumane conditions, and accused him of "murdering" a general by withholding medical treatment. This figure of American origin served as Nicaragua's international legal adviser before the International Court of Justice, when Managua denounced the United States for financing the counterrevolution, winning the case.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Ortega administration also ordered the closure of the Nicaraguan Language Academy for failing to register as a "foreign agent" ratified by the Sandinista parliament with the favorable vote of 75 deputies of the ruling FSLN.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Sexual abuse allegations

In 1998, Daniel Ortega's adopted stepdaughter Zoilamérica Narváez released a 48-page report<ref>Template:In lang Testimony of Zoilamérica Narváez against her stepfather Daniel Ortega Template:Webarchive; Testimony of Zoilamérica Narváez against her stepfather Daniel Ortega (in English) Template:Webarchive</ref> in which she alleged he had sexually abused her from 1979, when she was 12, until 1990.<ref name="GUARD16"/><ref name=time230398>Time, 23 March 1998, An Ugly Family Affair: Charges of sexual abuse leveled against Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega swirl atop a power struggle</ref> Ortega and his wife Murillo denied the allegation.<ref name="CommandantCaudillo">Template:Cite news</ref> The case could not proceed in Nicaraguan courts, which have been consistently allied with Ortega,<ref name="DB13">Template:Cite news</ref> because he had immunity from prosecution as a member of parliament,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and the five-year statute of limitations for sexual abuse and rape charges had expired.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Narváez's complaint to the Inter-American Human Rights Commission was ruled admissible on 15 October 2001.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 4 March 2002, the Nicaraguan government accepted the commission's recommendation of a "friendly agreement".<ref name="envio1567"/> Narváez withdrew the accusations in 2008.Template:Why<ref name="CommandantCaudillo" /><ref name="DB13"/> Following the 2016 election, Narváez renewed her accusations and said that she had become an outcast in her family.<ref name="GUARD16"/><ref name="DB13"/>

In 2019 a documentary film Exiliada was released which revolves around Zoilamérica Narváez and her sexual abuse allegations against Ortega.<ref name=":1">Template:Cite web</ref>

There is also the case of Elvia Junieth who was allegedly abused by the president in 2005, and, according to the family, a girl was born from that relationship that Ortega did not recognize. Ernesto Moncada Lau, another of the assistants to the Sandinista president, appears on the birth certificate as the father of the minor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Her brother died in the Tipitapa Model prison in November 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Foreign honours

• Abkhazia
  • File:ABK Order of Honour and Glory 1st class ribbon 218.svg Order of Honour and Glory, First Class<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Cuba
  • File:Ribbon jose marti.png Order of José Martí<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Mongolia
  • File:OrdenSuheBator.png Order of SukhbaatarTemplate:Citation needed
• Peru
  • File:PER Order of the Sun of Peru - Knight BAR.png Order of the Sun of Peru<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• Russia
  • File:Orden of Friendship.png Order of Friendship<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• South Ossetia
  • File:Лента Ордена Уацамонга.png Uatsamonga Order<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

Sources

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book, especially:
  • Template:Wikicite

External links

• Office of the President Template:Webarchive
• Biography by CIDOB Template:In lang