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Daniel Ortega personally coordinated with the head of the National Police, First Commissioner Francisco Díaz — who is also his son’s father-in-law — to implement a new speed limit of 50 kilometers per hour (km/h) on Nicaraguan highways, Rosario Murillo revealed. The decision, which makes Nicaragua the Central American country with the lowest permitted speed, has drawn strong criticism from experts and transport workers, who describe the measure as “a cash grab,” “illogical,” and “misguided.”
“Last night (Monday) I heard (Ortega) telling (Díaz) that children or minors cannot travel on motorcycles because we expose ourselves to more accidents, more deaths, more pain, among other things. And then the speed limits, then the controls that have to be taken”, Murillo said in her speech on Tuesday, June 17, 2025.
On June 17, the Police ordered that 50 km/h is the new speed limit on highways for drivers of private vehicles as well as public or private transport of cargo or passengers. Meanwhile, motorcycle riders must drive at a maximum of 40 km/h (25 mp/h) on highways and are prohibited from carrying children as passengers.
“The measures taken so far, including the speed reduction, will achieve nothing because they are intended to raise revenue. They’re focused on generating more income for the State,” said a traffic safety expert consulted by CONFIDENCIAL.
“Reducing the speed limit will only increase fines for speeding,” the expert noted.
The police decision has sparked rejection and mockery from the public on social media. Users commented that the measure won’t reduce accidents and that the real intention is to issue more fines. Others said the country is moving backward, and that bicycles or horse-drawn carts might make a comeback.
Amid the online ridicule and criticism, the National Police removed the statement from its website, its Facebook page Visión Policial, and also deleted the video in which Deputy Commissioner Karen Obando, co-head of the police public relations office, read the announcement.
Traffic Fines Revenue
Traffic fines have been the National Police’s main source of funding. Since 2023, they’ve exceeded 300 million córdobas ($8.16 million USD) in fines, and for 2025, they expect to collect over 400 million córdobas.
Alongside this revenue increase, road accidents and fatalities have also risen. Before 2021, the daily average number of road deaths was two, but between 2022 and 2023, it increased to three. In 2024, following an order from Daniel Ortega, the average “miraculously” dropped back to two.
“A comprehensive public policy for reducing traffic accidents requires prevention as the most important aspect. It demands investment in improving road conditions, educational campaigns for drivers, and traffic units stationed in the most problematic areas,” the expert emphasized.
While the Police do carry out prevention campaigns, these are limited to distributing flyers, holding seminars, and presenting the “Road Safety Booklet.” They also install speed checkpoints, but until 2024, these had little effect, as the number of fatalities kept rising.
“To enforce this new rule, they’ll need more traffic patrols and police checkpoints on the roads, more radars, breathalyzers, and other tools,” the analyst noted.
Central American Truckers: “It’s an Illogical Measure”
Costa Rican freight carrier Sidex Pays called the new speed limit an “illogical measure” that does not address the real causes of traffic accidents.
“There are plenty of statistics that say most accidents are due to recklessness and alcohol consumption. The indicators we have—not just from Nicaragua, but from everywhere—point to alcohol use (…) and if the problem is alcoholism, then why don’t they shut down the liquor stores in Nicaragua?” Pays questioned.
He added, “50 kilometers per hour is not a sensible speed for the world we live in.”
Central American cargo trucks have 24 hours to travel from one border to another. With the new speed limit, Pays said, drivers will no longer be able to rest because they’ll be driving slower and traffic will increase. This is on top of the time spent waiting at border checkpoints, which can last half a day.
“With this measure, a driver can’t rest, can’t eat. God forbid they get a flat tire! This rule was not made with freight transport in mind. It’s a flawed decision that goes against our current reality, where time is very precious,” the trucker stressed.
However, Raul Alfaro, president of the Salvadoran Association of International Freight Transporters (Astic), acknowledged that the measure has stirred concern among Central American transport workers, though he believes the impact will be minimal.
“I told the drivers that here we already drive at an average of 40 kilometers per hour. It’s not like a truck is going 40 the whole way, but for me, if they give 24 hours (to cross borders), that’s fine,” said Alfaro.
“A truck doesn’t travel constantly at 80 km/h. We might do that in some stretches, then slow to 40, 20, go back up to 60. The speed varies, but 50 kilometers is more consistent,” Alfaro reasoned.
With the 50 km/h limit, Nicaragua becomes the country with the lowest speed limit in Central America. These are the limits in other countries:
- GuatemalaThe speed limit is 100 km/h on highways, 90 km/h on expressways and 80 km/h on main roads.
- Honduras: The limit for driving on main roads and highways is 80 km/h.
- El SalvadorThe limit on highways for private vehicles is 110 km/h and 80 km/h for cargo transport.
- Costa Rica: You can drive up to 100 km/h on highways and 60 km/h on unmarked roads.
- Panama: the limit on highways is 120 km/h and 100 km/h on roads.
- Belize: maximum driving speed is 88km/h on highways.
Drivers of Nicaragua’s intercity buses told La Prensa that the new limit will increase travel times. “We’re used to making the trip from Carazo to Managua in an hour and 15 minutes, but with this new measure, it’ll stretch to about two and a half hours,” a driver noted.
