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The United States Department of State accused Rosario Murillo of having invented the position of “co-president” in Nicaragua without elections, without a mandate, and without legitimacy, “because she knows she cannot win” in a free electoral process.
“One year ago, Rosario Murillo invented a ‘Co-Presidency’ to consolidate her illegitimate control over Nicaragua: no elections, no mandate, no legitimacy,” the U.S. State Department noted in a message in X, Friday, January 30, 2026.
Friday marked one year since the approval, in a second and final legislative vote, of a reform to the Political Constitution that transformed the State, eliminated the balance of powers, and granted total power to the spouses—and now co-presidents—of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, who, according to experts, seek to establish a “family dynasty.”
“Power based on repression and constitutional manipulation is not the will of the Nicaraguan people,” the State Department added.
The United States accused Murillo of, “cowardly,” together with Ortega, having “denied Nicaraguans the right to a democratic vote because she knows she cannot win.”
Murillo, who had served as vice president since 2017, was designated co-president as of February 2025 through a constitutional reform.
In mid-February 2025, Nicaragua enacted a sweeping reform of its Political Constitution that has been harshly criticized by the United Nations, the Organization of American States (OAS), the United States, the European Parliament, and Nicaraguan opposition figures.
The amendment extends the presidential term from five to six years, establishes the figure of “co-president”, establishes that the Executive “coordinates” the other “organs” of the State, which are no longer called powers, and legalizes statelessness.
At Ortega’s request, lawmakers amended 148 of the Constitution’s 198 articles and repealed another 37, including the article that prohibited the practice of torture.
It also included, as a national symbol, the flag of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), the ruling party since 2007.
Ortega, 80 years old and in power since 2007, has ruled Nicaragua since 2017 along with his wife Murillo.
