The U.S. State Department issued a strong condemnation of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega's recent announcement that the country will cease holding elections. Officials described the move as laying bare the "true authoritarian nature" of the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship, stating that Ortega and his wife, co-president Rosario Murillo, have "abandoned even the pretense of popular consent."
Daniel Ortega, who has been in power for nearly 20 years, declared on Monday that future elections would be canceled to prevent opposition parties from attempting to "seize the government." He stated, "The days when parties backed by the Yankees and the Somocistas would return to power are over — never again."
In response, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital, "Rosario Murillo and Daniel Ortega, along with their enablers, continue to threaten our national security interests in our region. Their facilitation of illegal immigration, deepening of adversarial relationships, and abuse of human rights and repression of Nicaraguans destabilizes our hemisphere, in defiance of the Trump Administration’s efforts to generate safety and prosperity." The spokesperson further characterized the Nicaraguan regime as an "enemy of humanity."
The State Department urged the international community to unite in pressuring the Nicaraguan government, stating, "The Nicaraguan people have the right to choose their own leaders through democratic elections. The United States calls on the international community to join forces to demonstrate to the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship that it cannot expect to maintain business as usual with other nations when it is thwarting the basic tenets of our democratic hemisphere."
Ortega, 80, was a leader of the Marxist-inspired Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) during the revolution that overthrew the U.S.-backed Somoza family dictatorship in 1979. After leading the country from 1979 to 1990, he was voted out of office. He returned to power after being reelected in 2016. Since then, Ortega and his family have consolidated their control, including establishing the co-presidency role for his wife, Rosario Murillo.
In 2018, anti-government protests were suppressed by the government. Many of Ortega and Murillo's children hold significant government positions, including roles in communications, state media oversight, diplomacy, and cultural initiatives. Laureano Ortega Murillo, in particular, manages Nicaragua's diplomatic relations with China and Russia.