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At least six luxury properties belonging to former Treasury Secretary Juan José Montoya have been confiscated and redistributed by the dictatorship since his “fall from grace” and imprisonment in April 2024.
The latest property seized is a country house located in Estelí, which has been turned into a rehabilitation center for people with addictions, three local sources from the department confirmed to CONFIDENCIAL .
The property spans about 3.9 manzanas (roughly 6.7 acres) and is located 400 meters from the La Sirena junction on the road to San Juan de Limay, Estelí. It features spacious bedrooms, a sports court, and a swimming pool.
This property is now one of eight Addiction Recovery Centers run by the “Nuevos Días Foundation,” an entity for which there is no public record of its legal registration, its members, or when and why it was granted these assets.
Montoya was imprisoned in April 2024, after being investigated for alleged money laundering and “unauthorized corruption”, government sources confirmed to CONFIDENCIAL. Since then, his whereabouts have remained unknown since.
CONFIDENCIAL confirmed that at least three of the eight rehabilitation centers inaugurated by the regime were set up on confiscated properties: the home of the former Sandinista official, Rancho Colibrí (previously belonging to Puerta de la Montaña Ministry), and the Skylark Retreat Center of the Threefold Ministries foundation. The legal status of both these organizations was revoked in December 2023 and August 2024, respectively.
Homes in Pelican Eyes
Montoya and his family also had five houses located in the Pelican Eyes tourist complex, located in San Juan del Sur, confiscated in September 2024. These properties were transferred to the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute (INSS), revealed Despacho 505, which had access to documents from the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
Official documents state that the confiscated houses are Villa Coral Uno, Villa Coral Dos, Villa Coral Tres and Canción del Viento, which have a commercial value of between US$250,000 and US$350,000. A fifth home was under construction at the time.
The properties were registered under various companies in which the shareholders or legal representatives were Juan José Montoya, his wife Martha Lorena Galeano Briones, and their sons Luis Fernando and Juan Daniel Montoya Galeano.
Between August 2024 and March 2025, around 113 properties were donated to Nicaraguan Social Security Institute (INSS), according to a CONFIDENCIAL review. In 109 of these cases, the regime withheld key information like property size, cadastral numbers, and exact location—details that, according to real estate agents and economists, suggest these are illegally confiscated assets and the regime is trying to avoid public claims by their rightful owners.
Montoya’s fall from grace
Montoya was appointed as Treasurer General of the Republic days after Daniel Ortega’s return to power, on February 1, 2007, and was dismissed on February 28, 2022.
Just over two years later, in April 2024, he was arrested and investigated for allegedly embezzling funds, collecting bribes, and receiving large commissions on government purchases during his time as the state’s chief procurement officer.
He is also reported to have created and acquired numerous businesses, homes, farms, and vehicles under his name, his family’s names, or those of front men.
According to sources, these “investigations” for “unauthorized corruption” also led to the fall of Esteli’s police chief, commissioner Alejandro Ruiz, for his links to Montoya Perez.
Montoya is also known for his close relationship with the Secretary General of Managua’s City Hall, Fidel Moreno.
Property Acquisitions After Dismissal
After his dismissal from the Ministry of Finance, Montoya acquired several properties and businesses in the departments of Estelí, Matagalpa, and Jinotega, CONFIDENCIAL reported in October 2024, six months after his arrest.
The “Montoya group,” as his affiliated companies were known, purchased more than 20 coffee farms worth millions of dollars over the past two years, along with several coffee processing facilities located between Sébaco and Matagalpa.
A source in the agricultural sector also noted that they bought tobacco farms in Estelí and dozens of high-value homes in prime locations across the city.
