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Diplomatic relations between Nicaragua and Spain escalated on Sunday, January 25, 2026, after both countries expelled their respective ambassadors in Managua and Madrid.
The Spanish government ordered the expulsion of Nicaragua’s ambassador in Madrid and another Nicaraguan diplomat, in “strict reciprocity” for the “unjust expulsion” of its ambassador in Managua and Spain’s deputy chief of mission in the Central American country, sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the EFE news agency.
The order to expel the current Nicaraguan ambassador to Spain, Maurizio Alberto Gelli, and another diplomat from the Nicaraguan delegation was issued on Sunday, although it did not come to light until Monday.
In statements to EFE, Gelli —in his post since November 2022— confirmed that Spain had “applied reciprocity” and that he was already on his way to Nicaragua, with a stopover in Rome.
“Each country is sovereign and makes its own decisions,” added the ambassador, who declined to make further comments.
As for the Spanish ambassador in Nicaragua, Sergio Farre Salva, he had been in the position for less than two months. He presented his letters of credence on January 2, 2026.
“The Government of Spain will continue working to have the best possible relations with the brotherly people of Nicaragua,” assured the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Nicaraguan Government has not issued any official statement regarding the expulsion of the Spanish diplomat.
Gelli, one of Ortega’s “super ambassadors”
Maurizio Gelli, an Italian national who became a Nicaraguan citizen, is part of a select club of the Ortega regime: the super ambassadors. Only those diplomats with multiple appointments—at least three and up to nine or eleven—belong to this circle.
The diplomat was appointed by Ortega as Nicaragua’s ambassador to Spain in November 2022. Additionally, he holds concurrent ambassadorial positions in four other European countries: Andorra, Greece, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.
Ortega’s “super ambassador” has been accused of attempting to “launder” the illicit money of his father Licio Gelli, a former Italian agent accused of anti-communist clandestine operations during the Cold War.
Maurizio Gelli’s late father was also accused of conspiracy work during the eighties in Argentina and financial scandals in Uruguay and Italy, including the bankruptcy of Banco Ambrosiano, which was reportedly involved in supporting the Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
Diplomatic Tensions Between the Two Countries
Tensions between the two countries have been constant in recent years, and in 2021 Daniel Ortega’s regime denounced Spain’s “continuous interference” in Nicaragua’s internal affairs.
In response, the Spanish Government recalled its ambassador in Managua at the time, María del Mar Fernandez-Palacios, for consultations and “categorically” rejected the Nicaraguan Government’s accusations.
Subsequently, in 2023, the Nicaraguan Government expelled and stripped hundreds of diplomats, former state officials, human rights defenders, Sandinista dissidents, opposition members, journalists, academics, students, business owners, and merchants of their nationality.
In response to this situation, Spain offered Spanish nationality to all of them, as well as to other opponents who were still imprisoned in Nicaragua.
Additionally, in March 2025, the Spanish Congress approved a non-binding resolution, supported by the main government and opposition parties, to condemn the “systematic” violation of human rights in Nicaragua, demand the immediate cessation of repression, and push within the EU for increased sanctions against the Nicaraguan regime.
*With information from EFE.
