Nicaragua’s president says country will never hold elections again
Wall Street looks at the midterm election map
Pimco’s Head of Public Policy Libby Cantrill outlines how the upcoming midterm elections could reshape markets, tax policy and the economy. He explains that while the House of Representatives may fall to Democratic control, the Senate is less likely to change hands, affecting legislative predictability.
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega said the Central American country will no longer hold elections, further blocking a potential path for the opposition to challenge the government he leads with his wife, Rosario Murillo.
Ortega, Nicaragua’s longest-serving leader, has been in power since 2007, after previously ruling in the 1980s. The current presidential term is scheduled to last until 2027.
“There will be no more elections here to seize the government and power,” Ortega said.
He made the remarks Sunday in a speech commemorating the 1979 Sandinista revolution, in which Ortega participated in the overthrow of the U.S.-backed dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza.
TRUMP ADMIN SUPPORTS STATE OF EMERGENCY IN BOLIVIA BECAUSE THE LEFT-WIST FORMER LEADER’S LOYALTIES ARE BREAKING OUR COUNTRY
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said officials in the Central American country will no longer hold elections. (REUTERS/Leonardo Fernandez Viloria)
The declaration appeared to rule out the possibility of a future electoral fight as Ortega and Murillo continue to consolidate control over the country’s political institutions.
“The days when parties backed by the Yankees (USA) and the Somocistas would return to power are over, never again,” Ortega said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the U.S. State Department for comment.
The Trump administration has described the Ortega-Murillo government as a dictatorship and imposed sanctions on members of the government and their allies. The State Department also enacted visa restrictions targeting more than 2,350 Nicaraguan officials and their family members.
“The United States stands with the Nicaraguan people who, like Rivera, desire to see a free Nicaragua,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in June.
TRUMP EXPANDED CUBA SANCTIONS BEYOND US COMPANIES IN MAJOR Crackdown on FOREIGN CONTROLS
The Trump administration described Ortega’s government as a dictatorship. (Carlos Becerra/Bloomberg)
The Biden administration had previously said Ortega had illegitimately awarded him another term following Nicaragua’s disputed 2021 presidential election.
Authorities arrested presidential candidates, opposition figures, businessmen and journalists ahead of this vote as the government intensified criminalization of dissent.
Ortega and Murillo further expanded their powers with sweeping constitutional amendments that take effect in 2025. The reforms increased the presidential term from five to six years and promoted Murillo from vice president to “co-president”.
The changes also brought Nicaragua’s legislative, judicial and electoral institutions under presidential authority, according to United Nations experts.
Ortega and Murillo now maintain control of nearly every branch of government, including the armed forces, police and judiciary.
Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo, control nearly every aspect of the country’s government. (INTI OCON/AFP)
Ortega effectively eliminated meaningful electoral competition during the 2011, 2016 and 2021 elections, Salvador Marenco, coordinator of the Costa Rica-based Nicaragua Nunca Más Human Rights Collective, told Reuters.
Many prominent opposition leaders were imprisoned, exiled, or stripped of their Nicaraguan citizenship; Opposition parties and independent civil organizations lost their legal status.
A group of United Nations experts accused the Ortega-Murillo government of systematically violating human rights as part of a campaign to quash criticism and maintain its grip on power. Some of the alleged violations could constitute crimes against humanity, experts said.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD FOX NEWS APPLICATION
The government cracked down on anti-government protests in 2018. More than 300 people were killed during the unrest, according to international human rights groups.
Reuters contributed to this report.
