DANIEL ORTEGA

The Inter-American Human Rights Court has declared the government of Nicaragua in contempt of court for ignoring rulings on political prisoners

Nicaragua’s Sandinista National Liberation Front has completed its political domination of the country by winning local elections decried as unfair in all 153 of the country’s municipalities

Nicaragua’s Sandinista National Liberation Front has completed its political domination of the country by winning local elections decried as unfair in all 153 of the country’s municipalities.

It’s been an electoral campaign without rallies, demonstrations or even real opposition

It's been an electoral campaign without rallies, demonstrations or even real opposition.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega says new sanctions imposed on his government by the United States this week will only serve to drive more migrants to the U.S. border

Biden's order and other steps announced Monday are perhaps the most aggressive attempt by the U.S. to hold the Ortega accountable for his continued attacks on human rights and democracy.

The Biden administration is ratcheting up pressure on President Daniel Ortega’s authoritarian rule in Nicaragua, banning Americans from doing business in the nation’s gold industry, threatening trade restrictions and stripping the U.S. visas of some 500 government insiders.

Families of four well-known opposition figures jailed in Nicaragua fear for their relatives’ lives because of bad conditions at the infamous El Chipote prison

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A judge in Argentina has launched a criminal investigation into Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Mar�a Murillo to determine whether they are responsible for crimes against humanity

A judge in Argentina has launched a criminal investigation into Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario María Murillo to determine whether they are responsible for crimes against humanity.

Exiled Nicaraguan economist Javier Álvarez received terrible news this week: his wife, daughter and son-in-law, jailed three weeks ago by the government of President Daniel Ortega, had been formally charged with serious crimes back in Nicaragua

Exiled Nicaraguan economist Javier Álvarez received terrible news this week: his wife, daughter and son-in-law, jailed three weeks ago by the government of President Daniel Ortega, had been formally charged with serious crimes back in Nicaragua.

In the hours after El Salvador President Nayib Bukele announced he would seek re-election despite a constitutional ban, opinion quickly divided.

Pope Francis says the Vatican is in contact with the Nicaraguan government about its crackdown on the Catholic Church and hoped that “at the very least” nuns from Mother Teresa’s Sisters of Charity religious order would be allowed to return to the country.

A judge in Nicaragua has sentenced a Roman Catholic priest to 49 years in prison for the rape of a 14-year-old girl

Since the summer of 2021, when Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega locked up dozens of political opponents ahead of November’s presidential elections, Nicaraguans have been seeking asylum in Costa Rica at the highest levels since Nicaragua’s political crisis exploded in April 2018.

Pope Francis has expressed worry about the situation in Nicaragua following the detention of a Roman Catholic bishop and several priests.

President Daniel Ortega's government has moved systematically against voices of dissent, arresting many opposition leaders last year.

The government of Daniel Ortega is moving ever closer to silencing all opposition in the Central American country.

Nicaraguan police have raided the residence of a Roman Catholic bishop, detaining him and several other people holed up inside for two weeks.

Nicaragua’s government recently shuttered seven radio stations belonging to the Catholic Church

Nicaragua’s government recently shuttered seven radio stations belonging to the Catholic Church.

Hundreds of Nicaraguans have attended Mass under a heavy police presence after the government prohibited a religious procession in the capital amid tensions with the Roman Catholic Church

Nicaragua’s police are prohibiting a religious procession scheduled for Saturday in the capital, the latest sign of tensions between the government and the Roman Catholic Church

With virtually no independent journalists left inside and foreign reporters banned from entering, Nicaragua has become 'an information black hole.'

Nicaragua’s police say they have begun an investigation against a Roman Catholic bishop who has been an outspoken critic of President Daniel Ortega’s government

Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega’s government has closed seven radio stations this week owned by the Roman Catholic church, as well as two other outlets serving the largely rural northern area with a history of opposition

Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega’s government has closed seven radio stations this week owned by the Roman Catholic church, as well as two other outlets serving the largely rural northern area with a history of opposition.

Nicaraguan authorities have ordered the closures of six radio stations belonging to the Roman Catholic Church and surrounded one with riot police

One of Nicaragua’s leading national newspapers announced Thursday on its website that its staff had been forced to flee the country and would continue working from outside Nicaragua

The Nicaraguan government is now going after one of the few local newspapers that dared to report on its expulsion of the Missionaries of Charity, the order established by Mother Teresa

After ordering the expulsion of the Missionaries of Charity established by Mother Teresa, the Nicaraguan government has now gone after one of the few local newspapers that dared to report on the nuns being removed. Two drivers for the independent newspaper La Prensa have been jailed and police raided the homes of two reporters, according to an employee of the newspaper. The reporters had covered the expulsion on Thursday of 18 nuns of the Missionaries of Charity after the government of President Daniel Ortega had ordered the organization closed in late June.

The wife of Nicaraguan political activist Félix Maradiaga told journalists her husband had lost more than 65 pounds during his year in prison and she feared for his health

The wife of Nicaraguan political activist Félix Maradiaga told journalists her husband had lost more than 65 pounds during his year in prison and she feared for his health.

Nicaraguan riot police have taken over the city halls of five municipalities that had been in the hands of an opposition party, four months before scheduled municipal elections

Nicaraguan riot police have taken over the city halls of five municipalities that had been in the hands of an opposition party, four months before scheduled municipal elections.

The Nicaraguan government has closed an additional 101 civic and charity groups, including the local branch of the Missionaries of Charity established by Mother Teresa

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has had his political opponents beaten and thrown in jail and passed legislation making criticism of the government a form of treason. Sharyn Alfonsi reports on the loss of democracy in Nicaragua.

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Nicaragua’s state-owned gold mining company and the president of its board of directors partly over the Central American nation’s ties to Russia.

The U.S. State Department has imposed visa restrictions on 93 more Nicaraguan officials for their role in supporting the regime of President Daniel Ortega

A spokesperson for Russia's foreign ministry called it a "routine — twice a year — procedure."

The government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has authorized Russian troops, planes and ships to deploy to Nicaragua for purposes of training, law enforcement or emergency response

The government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has authorized Russian troops, planes and ships to deploy to Nicaragua for purposes of training, law enforcement or emergency response.

The government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has authorized Russian troops, planes and ships to deploy to Nicaragua for purposes of training, law enforcement or emergency response. In a decree published this week, and confirmed by Russia on Thursday, Ortega will allow Russian troops to carry out law enforcement duties, “humanitarian aid, rescue and search missions in emergencies or natural disasters.” The Nicaraguan government also authorized the presence of small contingents of Russian troops for “exchange of experiences and training.”

Nicaragua’s Sandinista-controlled congress has cancelled nearly 200 nongovernmental organizations this week, ranging from a local equestrian group to the 94-year-old Nicaraguan Academy of Letters, in what critics say is President Daniel Ortega’s attempt to eliminate the country’s civil society

Nicaragua’s Sandinista-controlled congress has cancelled nearly 200 nongovernmental organizations this week, ranging from a local equestrian group to the 94-year-old Nicaraguan Academy of Letters, in what critics say is President Daniel Ortega’s attempt to eliminate the country’s civil society.

Nicaragua’s Sandinista-controlled congress has cancelled nearly 200 nongovernmental organizations this week, ranging from a local equestrian center to the 94-year-old Nicaraguan Academy of Letters, in what critics say is President Daniel Ortega’s attempt to eliminate the country’s civil society. On Thursday, lawmakers from Ortega’s party and their allies voted unanimously — there were 14 abstentions — to cancel 96 organizations. Since popular street protests turned against Ortega’s government in April 2018, the government has cancelled more than 400.

The government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has ordered the closure of 83 more civic groups and non-governmental organizations

A Nicaraguan environmental group says a local Indigenous leader and his son have died in a gunfight with land invaders who tried to run them off their land near Nicaragua’s northern Caribbean coast

A Roman Catholic bishop in Nicaragua has begun an “indefinite fast” inside a church to protest increasing harassment from national police, who he said followed him throughout the entire previous day

A Roman Catholic bishop in Nicaragua has begun an “indefinite fast” inside a church to protest increasing harassment from national police, who he said followed him throughout the entire previous day.

The Biden administration is unlikely to invite the leaders of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba to the upcoming Summit of the Americas, a senior State Department official said Wednesday while sidestepping questions about an eventual role for Venezuela's opposition leader at the gathering of hemispheric leaders. The summit, to take place in Los Angeles in early June, will focus on defending democracy and human rights in the Western Hemisphere as well as addressing irregular migration, climate change and efforts to ensure equitable growth as the region emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols told reporters.

The Nicaraguan government says it is closing the Nicaragua offices of the Organization of the American States and expelling the staff

The Nicaraguan government said Sunday it is closing the Nicaragua offices of the Organization of the American States and expelling the staff. The announcement was the latest in a string of dozens of expulsions or jailings carried out by the government of President Daniel Ortega. In March, Nicaragua suffered the humilliating criticism of the country’s own ambassador to the OAS criticizing the arrests.

Four years after university students led protests against Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega’s government, his administration is minimizing the chance of a reoccurrence by seizing a dozen private universities and closing them or shifting control to the state

Four years after university students led protests against Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega’s government, his administration is minimizing the chance of a reoccurrence by seizing a dozen private universities and closing them or shifting control to the state.

Nicaragua’s ambassador to the Organization of the American States says he had been feeling a “weight in his heart” for the last couple of weeks.

The Vatican has expressed “surprise and pain” at Nicaragua’s expulsion of the papal nuncio, which comes at a time of growing pressure on opposition figures in the Central American nation

The Vatican on Saturday expressed “surprise and pain” at Nicaragua's expulsion of the papal nuncio, which comes at a time of growing pressure on opposition figures in the Central American nation. Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag was “grave and unjustified.” It said the action was “incomprehensible” because Sommertag “has worked tirelessly for the good of the church and of the Nicaraguan people,” while “always seeking to promote good relations” between the Vatican and Nicaraguan authorities.

Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo have crushed civil society and thrown their former comrades in jail. What remains of the Sandinista ideal?

One-time Nicaragua presidential aspirant Cristiana Chamorro and one of her brothers were among five people formally placed on trial Thursday. Chamorro, 68, has been under house arrest since June 2. Chamorro, her brother Pedro Joaquín Chamorro and three former employees of the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation will be tried for money laundering and other alleged crimes.

Nicaraguan judges have convicted seven opposition leaders, including former high-level Sandinistas and three former presidental contenders, of “conspiracy to undermine national integrity.”

The Biden administration is considering trying to expel Nicaragua from a lucrative regional free trade pact to retaliate against President Daniel Ortega’s crackdown on his opponents.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has hosted his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro for talks in Moscow and hailed ties between the two countries, which he described as “friendship and mutual understanding.”.

Relatives in Nicaragua say that jailed former Sandinista guerrilla and opposition leader Hugo Torres has died at the age of 73

Relatives in Nicaragua say that jailed former Sandinista guerrilla and opposition leader Hugo Torres has died at the age of 73.

A judge in Nicaragua has sentenced former presidential hopeful and journalist Miguel Mora to 13 years in prison for “conspiracy to undermine national integrity.”

Russia has been threatening to expand military ties with allies Venezuela and Cuba amid rising tensions with the U.S. over Ukraine.

The presence of a senior Iranian official at the investiture of Nicaragua’s president has angered Argentina, which alleges the official was involved in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.

The presence of a senior Iranian official at the investiture of Nicaragua’s president has angered Argentina, which alleges the official was involved in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people. Rezaei, a former leader of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, is wanted by Argentina on an Interpol “Red Notice” because of the attack.

Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega has been sworn in for a fourth consecutive term following elections considered rigged and on a day marked by sanctions from the United States and European Union against members of his government.

The Nicaraguan government has seized the former embassy and diplomatic offices of Taiwan, saying they belong to China. President Daniel Ortega’s government broke off relations with Taiwan this month, saying it would recognize only the mainland government. Before departing, Taiwanese diplomats attempted to donate the properties to the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Managua.

Nicaragua's decision to sever diplomatic links with Taiwan and recognize China leaves the self-governing island democracy with just 14 diplomatic allies.

Benjamín Villalta, a 39-year-old Nicaraguan, couldn’t believe that a Mexican immigration office would open in the middle of the night to give him and some 40 other migrants humanitarian visas that would allow them to move about Mexico and work.

The Nicaraguan government has dropped visa requirements for Cuban citizens, a move that may spark an increase in Cubans travelling there in a bid to reach the United States.

Nicaragua’s former ambassador to the Organization of American States has been detained by unidentified men outside his home, his wife said

Nicaragua’s government announced Friday that it will withdraw from the Organization of American States, a regional body that has accused President Daniel Ortega's government of acts of repression and rigging this month’s election. Nicaragua Foreign Minister Denis Moncada said in a news conference that he sent an “official communication” to OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro citing the body’s “repeated acts of meddling” in Nicaragua.

Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega holds a commanding lead in preliminary results from Sunday’s election against a field of little known challengers.

A day after questioned elections, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s government has set about painting as a historic democratic victory what many of the world’s democracies condemned as a sham.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is seeking a fourth consecutive term as voting begins in elections against a field of little-known candidates while those who could have given him a real challenge sit in jail.

Back in May, the chances of Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega’s reelection to a fourth consecutive term were looking good.

More than 2,000 mostly Central American migrants were walking along a highway in southern Mexico toward the town of Huixtla where security forces had deployed, possibly signaling that authorities would soon try to break up the group.

Writer and former Nicaraguan Vice President Sergio Ramírez says he will live in exile in Spain, after the government of President Daniel Ortega tried to arrest him and banned his latest book.

Libya is planning an international conference next month to try to keep its political process on track.

One-time Nicaragua presidential aspirant Cristiana Chamorro and one of her brothers were among five people formally charged with money laundering Thursday.

The United States has slapped visa restrictions on 50 immediate family members of Nicaraguan officials who have been involved in or benefited from President Daniel Ortega’s growing repression.

The European Union is slapping sanctions on Nicaraguan first lady and Vice-President Rosario Murillo and seven other senior officials accused of serious human rights violations or undermining democracy.

The Nicaraguan government has organized rallies and festivities to mark the anniversary of the July 19, 1979, revolution that overthrew dictator Anastasio Somoza.

The U.S. State Department has announced that it is pulling the travel visas of 100 legislators, judges and prosecutors who aided the regime of President Daniel Ortega.

Nicaraguan police arrested a half dozen more opposition figures, including the sixth presidential hopeful to have been arrested in a crackdown that started last month.

In El Salvador, most are not bothered by President Nayib Bukele’s dictatorial maneuvers -- sending armed troops into congress to coerce a vote, or ousting independent judges from the country’s highest court, paving the way to control all branches of government.

It was around 10:30 p.m. on a Sunday night when journalist Verónica Chávez heard a loud noise as she put her son to bed.

International criticism of the Nicaraguan government has grown following another night of arrests in Managua.

Nicaragua police say they have placed former first lady María Fernanda Flores Lanzas, wife of former President Arnoldo Aleman, under house arrest for alleged crimes against the state.

Nicaraguan authorities have ordered the capture of a former education minister and a businessman as the government’s crackdown continued to expand beyond leaders of the political opposition.

Nicaraguan police have arrested yet another opposition leader, bringing to six the number detained over the weekend.

The government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has arrested five opposition leaders, following the detentions of four presidential contenders earlier this month.

The U.S. State Department has called on Nicaragua to free opposition figure Cristiana Chamorro, who is being held incommunicado at her home after her laptops and cellphones were taken away.