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Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega called U.S. President Donald Trump “mentally unhinged” during a speech at an event marking the country’s “Day of Peace.”
“The president of the United States, who says he is a man of peace, and even fought for the Nobel Peace Prize, though he didn’t receive it, is facing what we would call a mental imbalance. As we say here, he is not in his right mind,” Ortega said.
Ortega’s other remarks followed familiar themes: Sandino, William Walker, U.S. interventions in Nicaragua, the embargo on Cuba, among others. He also referenced more recent issues, such as U.S. actions against Iran and the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. This time, however, Ortega repeatedly targeted the U.S. president’s mental health.
He warned that if “the president of a power like that (referring to the United States) is not in his right mind, he will end up destroying his own people, and is already undermining peace in the world.”
“The wars imposed in the way the U.S. president imposes them are the actions of someone who has lost his mind and believes he can do anything, any atrocity. He even posted an image of himself dressed as Christ, healing people. How many has he healed? The people of the United States will hold him accountable to see how many he has killed, because he has saved no one,” Ortega said.
Calls for a halt to sanctions
In his speech, the Nicaraguan leader called on the United States to lift sanctions imposed on Nicaraguan citizens, referring to measures announced in April 2026 by the U.S. Treasury Department against two of his sons and several government officials, including the vice minister of Energy and Mines and the vice minister of the Interior, Luis Roberto Cañas Novoa, for their involvement in “serious human rights violations.”
Ortega did not only speak on behalf of his allies in Caracas, Havana, and Tehran. He also defended his own circle. “They keep imposing sanctions. They can’t even find anyone else to sanction in Nicaragua anymore,” he said. So far, sanctions imposed by the United States, Canada, and several European countries have specifically targeted Ortega and Rosario Murillo’s children, government officials, and companies linked to corruption within the ruling family.
“Let them lift the sanctions they have imposed on so many countries, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, sanctions that harm people’s lives, violate national sovereignty, and international law. They have sanctioned so many Nicaraguans that they are now looking for who else to sanction… with what authority?” he said.
On the April Rebellion, omitting the killings
Ortega recalled the beginning of what is known as the April Rebellion,although the official narrative portrays the protests as an attempted coup. “They had taken peace away from us, but we recovered it eight years ago,” he said.
He added that “what happened during those moments of terror convinced the Nicaraguan people that there was no path other than peace.” His speech, however, omitted the fact that it was armed repression and the imposition of a de facto police state that forced citizens off the streets. He also made no mention of the 355 people killed during the protests.
“Everything we have achieved in times of peace is there to see: social programs, housing, road construction, hospitals,” Ortega argued.
After invoking Christ and defending migrants, Ortega returned to familiar historical themes, including one of his recurring talking points: the International Court of Justice ruling against the United States. This time, he directed a personal message at the U.S. president: “Tell the president of the United States that his country owes a debt to Nicaragua, and that debt is still outstanding. Pay up! Pay up! Pay up! And stop bullying and sanctioning the peoples of the world.”
The staged appearance by Ortega and his wife was part of a “Day of Peace” commemoration intended to replace the memory of the April 2018 protests against the Sandinista government. Meanwhile, in cities around the world, Nicaraguan exiles held dozens of events to keep alive the demand for democracy and justice in Nicaragua.
