Central America
EU, US widen Nicaragua sanctions as Ortega begins new term
AFP
Daniel Ortega was sworn in Monday as Nicaragua’s president for a fourth straight term as the EU and US tightened sanctions over impugned elections held in November with all his challengers in jail.
“Yes, I swear,” said strongman Ortega as he and his wife Rosario Murillo, who was re-elected vice-president, were sworn in at a ceremony attended by the presidents of Cuba and Venezuela and envoys from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and Syria, among others.
Even before the event got under way, the European Union announced fresh sanctions against individuals it accuses of “undermining democracy” and human rights abuses in Nicaragua, including Ortega’s daughter and a son — both working as presidential advisors.
Others sanctioned “in view of the worsening situation in Nicaragua” were senior officials of the country’s police force and electoral body, said the EU.
In Washington, the US Treasury placed sanctions on six regime officials, including two generals, the defense minister, the head of the Supreme Electoral Council and officials of the telecommunications regulator, who allegedly ran a social media troll farm to help Ortega.
Travel restrictions were imposed on 116 individuals tied to the regime, including mayors, prosecutors, security and university officials “complicit in undermining democracy,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
In his inaugural address, Ortega, 76, mocked the sanctions, calling them a “decoration” for Brenda Rocha, the electoral council head, who was one of the officials sanctioned.
He called the US measures “cowardly” and “cruel (…) not just to Nicaragua” but also to Cuba and Venezuela, which have also been subjected for years to “brutal sanctions” that he said must cease.
– Russia and China –
In the months leading up to the November 7 vote, Nicaraguan authorities detained nearly 40 opposition figures, including seven would-be presidential challengers, assuring victory for long-time ruler Ortega.
As the international community rained opprobrium and sanctions on Ortega, he sought to improve ties with economic giants China and Russia.
Managua switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to Beijing, in return for which China reopened its embassy in the Central American nation and donated thousands of coronavirus vaccines.
Moscow, in response to outreach from Managua, provided the country with wheat, vaccines, even buses for public transport.
A firebrand Marxist in his youth, Ortega ruled Nicaragua from 1979 to 1990, after leading a guerrilla army that ousted US-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza.
Returning to power in 2007, he has won re-election three times, becoming increasingly dictatorial and quashing presidential term limits.
Ortega, with Murillo on his ticket, garnered 75 percent of the vote in November.
The election took place without independent international observers and with most foreign media denied access to the country.
The Nicaraguan parliament is dominated by Ortega allies, who also control the judiciary and electoral bodies.
Days before the election, Facebook announced it had closed a Nicaraguan government troll farm spreading anti-opposition messages.
Besides Rocha, the head of the Supreme Electoral Council, the European Union also imposed sanctions on the council’s deputy head and a senior official who was acting chief in 2018.
The country’s telecoms enterprise was also listed for its bid “to silence independent media” and spread “disinformation.”
– ‘Sham’ –
US President Joe Biden has slammed the vote as a “sham” and the Washington-based Organization of American States (OAS) said it was “not free, just or transparent.”
As sanctions were almost immediately announced by the US, EU, Canada, and Britain, Russia attacked the West for not recognizing the results.
“We consider this unacceptable and we strongly condemn such a stance,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in November.
The US State Department says Ortega’s regime continues to hold 170 political prisoners.
They include some 120 people who participated in anti-government protests in 2018 that were brutally repressed, causing more than 300 deaths and sending more than 100,000 people into exile, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
Ortega insists the jailed are criminals and “terrorists” seeking to overthrow him with help from the United States.
Dozens of Nicaraguan exiles protested in neighboring Costa Rica on Sunday against Ortega’s inauguration.
The protest came on the same day that Nicaragua’s new parliament, also elected in November and dominated by Ortega’s left-wing Sandinista National Liberation Front, was officially opened.
Central America
Guatemala Dismantles Largest Cocaine Lab Found in 15 Years Near Mexico Border
Security forces in Guatemala discovered what authorities described as the largest cocaine laboratory dismantled in the country in the last 15 years, located in the southwest near the border with Mexico, officials announced on Wednesday.
Guatemalan Defense Minister Henry Sáenz said during a press conference that the operation was carried out as part of “Operation Ring of Fire,” a large-scale security initiative launched by the Guatemalan government and military to reinforce border controls and combat organized crime, particularly along the Mexican border.
The operation focused on the community of Zanjón San Lorenzo, in the municipality of Ayutla, San Marcos department, where authorities uncovered a sophisticated criminal compound made up of three interconnected buildings equipped to carry out the full cocaine production process.
“What we can preliminarily observe in these facilities is the complete production cycle used to produce cocaine ready for consumption,” Sáenz stated, adding that the investigation remains ongoing and additional findings could emerge.
The minister highlighted the scale and complexity of the laboratory, comparing it to previous major drug seizures in the country.
“The last major laboratory we found was in El Estor, Izabal, in 2019, and that facility only processed coca paste,” he explained.
Authorities arrested eight individuals during the raid and seized a cache of weapons that included 14 military-style assault rifles, three 9mm pistols, and 1,306 rounds of ammunition.
Security forces also confiscated cash totaling 74,461 quetzales (approximately $9,600), $26,787 in U.S. currency, and 118,000 Mexican pesos.
Central America
Opposition leader highlights migration crisis in Panama speech
Opposition leader María Corina Machado recalled on Monday, during her final day in Panama, the thousands of Venezuelan migrants who crossed the dangerous Darién Gap jungle on their journey toward North America in search of better living conditions.
Speaking before Panama’s National Assembly, Machado stated that “more than 500,000 Venezuelans have crossed the Darién in search of freedom,” adding that many did not survive the journey.
Her remarks highlighted the Darién Gap as a central route in the recent regional migration crisis, where thousands of migrants—mostly Venezuelans—have attempted to travel north through one of the most dangerous jungle passages in the Americas.
According to migration data cited in recent years, the Darién route has seen daily flows of over a thousand migrants at its peak, reflecting the scale of the humanitarian challenge in the region.
Central America
Nicaragua’s Alliances With U.S. Rivals Could Trigger More Sanctions, Analysis Says
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to maintain political and economic pressure on the government of Nicaragua, led by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, due to its growing alliances with Russia, China and Iran, according to an analysis released Monday by the Centro de Estudios Transdisciplinarios de Centroamérica (Cetcam).
The report states that tensions between Washington and Managua have increased since the beginning of Trump’s second term and could worsen amid the regional political climate, particularly because of developments in Venezuela and Cuba.
Cetcam researchers noted that since the second half of 2025, the U.S. government has intensified criticism of the Sandinista administration, mainly regarding political prisoners, human rights, religious freedom and what it describes as the authoritarian model established by Ortega and Murillo.
“With this background, it is possible to foresee that Washington will maintain pressure, including sanctions, against the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship,” the think tank stated in its report.
The study also warns that one of Washington’s main concerns is the strengthening relationship between Managua and countries considered strategic rivals of the United States, particularly Russia, China and Iran.
Among the developments highlighted is the recent ratification by the Russian Senate of a military cooperation agreement signed with Nicaragua in 2025. The deal is expected to strengthen strategic coordination and Russia’s presence in Central America for an initial five-year period.
According to Cetcam, the move will “hardly go unnoticed” by the United States.
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