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The dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has extended its repression beyond those considered opponents, imprisoning historical figures and loyal Sandinista allies who have fallen out of favor in various “purges.” Former guerrilla commanders, ex-officials, former military and police personnel, and public employees have been accused of “treason,” conspiring against the regime, conducting “transactions outside the State,” or engaging in alleged acts of corruption.
According to opposition figures, these arrests are part of a strategy to eliminate any dissent within the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) itself and constitute a “preventive strike,” driven by Murillo’s fear, insecurity, and paranoia, aimed at exercising power without any internal checks, in the event of Ortega’s absence.
Public employees, former Sandinista militants, and ex-military personnel who spoke to CONFIDENCIAL under anonymity describe a climate of “fear” and report “deep unrest” among the party’s base. They note that “anyone can fall from grace” and see their “head roll” under Murillo’s “guillotine.”
The message: “No One Is Untouchable”
“It seems to me that these purges, which now include high-ranking Sandinistas, are part of Mrs. Murillo’s fear that, upon Ortega’s death, all the people who have historically been party members will not support her or her children, or that they might organize a movement against them,” says Gladys, a former municipal official who is now distanced from the FSLN.
The purges of two political and economic operatives, traditional allies of Ortega, have generated widespread fear within the sector known as historical Sandinismo. Presidential advisor Bayardo Arce Castaño, another member of the FSLN National Directorate in the 1980s and one of the few who had remained close to Ortega, was arrested at his home by dozens of police officers at midnight on Wednesday, July 30, 2025. Earlier, in June, retired General Álvaro Baltodano, former Presidential advisor between 2007 and 2022, was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
For Gladys, who received a decoration years ago for her Sandinista militancy, the message the dictatorship is sending to all its supporters is “that no one is untouchable and that anyone can fall under Rosario Murillo’s guillotine.”
“I believe these purges are dividing Sandinismo even more—between those who reluctantly support Rosario Murillo and those who are waiting for the regime to fall when she is left alone,” adds the former public employee.
“You’re with Rosario Murillo, or You Go to Prison”
Gladys admits that what is happening now is a “greater concentration of power among certain groups” loyal to Murillo, who “will continue intimidating the population, public workers, and party members,” sending the clear warning: “You’re with her, or you go to prison.”
On August 6, 2025, during the first legislative session, the dictatorship approved a constitutional reform creating the Office of the Attorney General. The government says its goal is to “combat corruption.” However, Gladys believes that “it is only a smokescreen to justify the purges.”
“Loyalty has never been rewarded within Sandinismo; backstabbing and disloyalty have always been encouraged, but now they are promoting it even more (…) Their goal will not be to fight corruption, because they have allowed it for years. What they will do is go after the traitors within their own ranks,” warns this former official.
“If you punish corruption, they should be in jail.”
Karina has more than ten years of experience working in the accounting department of a public institution and describes the purges as “settling scores,” both by Ortega and Murillo.
“It’s incredible that they want to sell these imprisonments and the disgrace of high-ranking officials as a fight against corruption, because anyone can ask themselves where they were all this time that they never noticed anything,” she points out.
The Attorney General’s Office, run by Wendy Morales Urbina, a loyal ally of Rosario Murillo who has become the dictatorship’s executioner institution in Nicaragua, accused Bayardo Arce of failing to appear before an investigation into “transactions and negotiations” conducted by his offices that “did not comply with legal regulations” under Nicaraguan law. Five hours later, he was arrested.
That same institution, exactly three months after Álvaro Baltodano’s capture, accused him, along with his son detained in July 2025, of being part of a corporate scheme involving approximately “20 shell companies.”
“Even assuming that these people who fell in the purges were corrupt, they would have had to have the dictatorship’s support, because here no one acts without their approval—or else they are admitting they were incompetent in detecting the thieves,” Karina says.
This public official believes that if there were truly a crusade against corruption, “they would have to imprison the entire Ortega-Murillo family.”
Dictatorship “increases persecution” within its ranks
“I fought in the war for a better country, but what we really see now is the division of the pie between Ortega, Murillo, and their children. Those who had been invited into that small circle are now excluded and not only that—they are humiliated and imprisoned,” says Abraham, a former Sandinista combatant from the south of the country.
He says he now talks less and less about politics with the small group of demobilized veterans he used to meet with. “There’s a lot of fear; some barely dare to voice a small criticism even in private circles,” he reflects.
“We don’t really know what’s happening internally to cause so many purges, but it’s strange that they’re punishing people who helped them stay in power. What we see is that the FSLN now only wants people intimidated and with their heads bowed,” Abraham adds.
“Although it has happened before, I think this time they are more focused on establishing a family dynasty like in Cuba and showing everyone that there are no successors outside the Ortega-Murillo family,” he concludes.
A Hard Blow to “Historical” Sandinistas
Gregorio, a former officer of the Sandinista Popular Army in the 1980s who retired in 1995, believes that those most affected by the arrests and persecution orchestrated by Rosario Murillo are people who for many years were seen as leaders within the FSLN, the so-called “historical” Sandinistas.
“Some say they’re old allies of Rosario Murillo from the 1980s. But they don’t consider that Murillo is purging potential adversaries who could challenge her power once Daniel Ortega dies, at which point she could realize her long-cherished dream of becoming president, with her children as vice presidents,” he says.
He notes that there is no real fight against corruption within the party and that it is only “a pretext used by the dictatorship” to justify “the hunt for historical figures who are key references of Sandinismo.”
Gregorio believes Murillo will continue removing “anything that smells like historical Sandinismo and doesn’t answer to her,” although he adds that this doesn’t mean the rest of the population “isn’t also being watched, spied on, and persecuted.” “The war declared is against everyone,” insists the former EPS officer.
Anger and Disapproval… But in Silence
For Ariel, a former FSLN member, there is “visible discontent” among the Sandinista grassroots who began supporting the party in the 1970s.
“Whispered conversations in supermarkets, hospitals, restaurants, and other public places are the norm, as people express anger, disapproval, and condemnation,” he says.
He notes that in Matagalpa, his hometown, Sandinistas “feel particularly aggrieved” by the purges of figures involved in the insurrection and the early stages of the revolution.
“Everyone knows that illicit enrichment through corruption tolerated from El Carmen has become normalized. But for thieves to suddenly pose as crusaders against theft? No one buys it,” he asserts.
“Surveillance is permanent”
Ariel believes that the persecution and surveillance is for the entire population, because it transcends Sandinismo and the public sector. “I know many former intelligence or public officials who are under permanent surveillance, and people forty years old or younger, without any militancy, who are forced to report their movements”, he mentions.
Mariela describes the fall of figures from the FSLN National Directorate, such as commanders Bayardo Arce and Henry Ruiz—effectively under house arrest since March 8, 2025—as “like the collapse of cathedrals.”
“I think they have inadvertently created martyr figures within Sandinismo itself,” says this public-sector worker, who identifies as a former Sandinista.
Mariela adds that there is talk that both Ortega and Murillo are weakened, “even though they try to project an image of eternity with these organized acts carried out in a fascist style.”
Double discourse among Sandinistas
A citizen who asked to be identified as Tolomeo Vargas, who was linked to the FSLN’s political and military structures in the seventies and eighties, says that after speaking with people still in the party, he concludes there is “a double standard among Sandinistas.”
“On one hand, there are those who remain silent out of fear or convenience, though they don’t approve. On the other hand, there is another segment, mostly at the grassroots level, more fanatical and slow to accept reality, but ultimately they end up acknowledging what is happening,” explains this man, now a small business owner.
Tolomeo notes that despite Sandinistas’ resistance to admitting they are ruled by a tyranny, there is a “clear feeling of confusion and dissatisfaction.” They recognize that this is “a power struggle,” which translates into Ortega and Murillo “clearing the path for dynastic succession.”
“This is not a crusade against corruption, nor the recent laws, nor the arrest of prominent Sandinistas; it responds to a dictatorial political objective of the ‘co-dictators’ to secure their family project,” he warns.
25 Public Workers and Sandinistas Detained
In its December 2024 report, the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners in Nicaragua warned that at least 25 state employees and Sandinista sympathizers were being arbitrarily detained.
The report also noted that the number could be higher, as families of these individuals did not report the arrests “because they are threatened.”
According to the Mechanism, these detentions are a “clear reflection” that the dictatorship “is increasing persecution even within its own ranks.”
Although the figure has not been updated in more recent reports, the Mechanism’s June 2025 report stated that state workers “have gone from being key pieces of the government apparatus to victims of the rulers’ paranoia and distrust.”
“Any sign of less-than-total submission can lead to dismissal, persecution, or imprisonment, since the regime considers even the slightest doubt or disagreement an act of treason,” the Mechanism notes.
The document also mentions a “wave of repression” in May 2025, when “at least twenty people were arbitrarily detained during raids carried out by the National Police in the departments of Matagalpa and Jinotega,” which also affected former members of the Army, both retired and active.
“This persecution of military personnel has been consolidating as a pattern aimed at silencing any form of criticism or dissent within state structures,” the report emphasized.
“Anyone Could Be Next”
The fear that public institution workers in Nicaragua already felt about mass layoffs has intensified after witnessing the purges, says Gabriel, a Judicial Branch employee.
“We’ve seen high-ranking officials fall in the Supreme Court of Justice and many other institutions, and when someone falls from grace, their associates and family members go down with them, even people who may have only worked for them,” the public employee explains.
In his more than twelve years working for the State, Gabriel says he has never felt “as much fear as I do today,” because before he only worried about “what would happen if I were fired,” but “now I think that for any reason, one could end up in jail.”
Ana, a municipal worker, shares the same feeling. “They’ve been firing people and conducting so-called audits, and many mayors have fallen,” she says.
In the municipality where Ana works, she admits there have been dismissals and interrogations. “They arrive with the Police, and in the end, they make you feel like you’re working somewhere crimes are being committed. Maybe it’s true that some officials are stealing, but we’re never told what actually happened,” she details.
Ana has worked at polling stations, put up party flags, and been a party activist for many years, even “when there was no money and they weren’t in power.”
“I was the type who would go out in the sun or rain to participate in party activities, but I realize that none of that is valued by the leadership, who only want sheep that say: yes, sirs,” Ana adds.
“The Purges Have Always Existed”
“When someone dared to raise their voice, dispute power, or criticize something within the FSLN, they were sidelined. That has always happened. We saw it with Herty Lewites, Nicho Marenco, and many others who fell from grace within the party,” says Edwin, a former Sandinista.
Edwin says he gradually withdrew from the party starting in 2007 when Ortega returned to power. “From the start of his government, I saw that his promises not to repeat the mistakes of the past were false (…) and he began repressing any form of protest,” he recalls.
One of Edwin’s sisters personally experienced “silent repression” when she denounced acts of corruption by public officials in a municipality in the country’s central region.
“The purges have always existed. My sister was gradually sidelined because it was frowned upon to point out certain people’s thefts, as they said it made the FSLN look bad, and they always invoke party discipline when it suits them,” Edwin reflects. But the repression “has become excessive” since 2018, he adds, because “now they want everyone to fear them.”
