MANAGUA | June 1, 2026 — 08:30 AM local time
Nicaragua Expels EU Ambassador as Ortega Intensifies Crackdown Ahead of November Elections
Nicaragua’s government ordered the immediate expulsion of the European Union’s ambassador to Managua on Monday, the latest in a series of moves by President Daniel Ortega to tighten control ahead of November elections that international observers have called a “preordained contest.” The EU ambassador, who had publicly criticized the arrests of opposition candidates, was given 72 hours to leave the country.
The diplomatic escalation came just days after Ortega’s Sandinista National Liberation Front blocked the registration of at least six opposition candidates, including Félix Maradiaga and Manuel Muñoz, both of whom had attempted to challenge the 77-year-old president who has ruled Nicaragua since 2007.
The European Union condemned the expulsion as “a deliberate act of hostility against our institution and the values we represent.” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said the bloc would respond with “targeted measures” against those responsible.
November 2026 is shaping up to be the most consequential election cycle in Latin America this year, with contests scheduled in Nicaragua, Peru and Honduras within weeks of each other. In Nicaragua, Ortega faces no credible challenger — all viable alternatives are either in exile, in prison, or barred from running.
“This is not an election — this is a coronation with a foregone conclusion,” said Dr. Olga Arce, a political scientist at the Universidad Centroamericana in Managua. “The regime has systematically eliminated every path to genuine political competition.”
Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo have presided over a deteriorating human rights situation since 2018, when security forces violently suppressed protests that killed more than 300 people. The United States, Canada, and the European Union have all imposed sanctions on Ortega and Murillo.
Eighteen Nicaraguan journalists and human rights defenders have fled the country in the past 30 days alone, according to the Nicaragua Human Rights Platform, an organization operating in exile.
Regional bodies are watching closely but have limited leverage. The Organization of American States has condemned previous electoral processes but has been unable to change outcomes. The Lima Group has not convened specifically on Nicaragua despite calls from Costa Rica and Chile.
Diego Vargas