Q REPORTS (NicaraguaInvestiga) Daniel Ortega has a terrible past for someone who assumes the presidency of a country. He’s a bank robber with a well-known history—and he’s even admitted to it.
When he assumed leadership of the country in the 1980s after Anastasio Somoza Debayle’s departure from power, one of Ortega’s first measures was to steal. He did so in the name of the state, but the truth is that these processes primarily benefited him and his then-military leadership, as well as many of today’s dissidents.
He carried out confiscations beyond the Somoza family’s properties, which was supposedly his real target. Between 20,000 and 28,000 properties, including luxury homes, farms, land, and businesses, were seized by the Sandinistas. That’s not counting the jewelry, cars, and belongings that were inside those properties, which were also seized.
In 2014, the American Embassy in Managua published a report highlighting that, as of that date, the Nicaraguan government had allocated US$1.279 billion to pay for confiscated properties, of which US$447 million was paid to dispossessed American citizens. The debt continues to be paid to this day, so the amount could easily exceed US$2 billion.
Ortega left the country with a historic debt, not only domestically but also externally. These installments earmarked for the payment of these debts translated into poverty for Nicaraguans due to the serious limitations on social investment they entailed.
Confiscations Return “Improved”
During this second dictatorship, Daniel Ortega once again made confiscations his mainstay of illicit enrichment.
It is unknown how many properties he has seized from non-governmental organizations, opponents, media outlets, and private entrepreneurs. But in May 2024, the dictator acknowledged that the confiscation amounted to “several million dollars” and, to justify the massive crime, spoke of “links to money laundering.”
“A number of properties that were used for money laundering have been seized (…) all these properties are worth several million dollars; they are in the hands of the Nicaraguan state,” said Ortega, who asserted that these properties will be “for the benefit of the poor.”
However, as happened in the 1980s, the dictator has not provided clarity about what was confiscated. Who are all those dispossessed? What is the fate of each seized property? How much is the total amount taken? Regarding everything stolen during the first dictatorship ever, there was a detailed report on this issue, but no government bothered to provide it, even though these confiscations constituted public debt.
A juicy loot
Confiscations under this new dictatorship reached a new level. Between 2018 and the present, more than 5,000 civil society organizations have been closed, and their assets have been confiscated. Many of these organizations owned multiple properties.
Fundación del Río, an environmental organization that operated to protect the Río San Juan Biosphere Reserve, told Nicaragua Investiga in 2023 that 22 properties were dispossessed from them.
“We had conservation areas, which are private wildlife reserves. At least four conservation areas were confiscated by the Nicaraguan regime,” reported Amaru Ruiz, head of that organization, illegally closed by the dictatorship.
In addition, they confiscated three offices, two community radio stations, a hotel, a training center, a childcare center, and housing for technical staff, among other assets.
According to Ruiz, there has been no legal transfer of the properties to the state, according to independent investigations.
An investigation by Hagamos Democracia revealed in 2024 that between 2018 and the date the data was published, the Sandinista dictatorship had confiscated at least 135 properties with an estimated value of US$250 million.
The investigation made it clear that this corresponds only to the cases that were documented, because many of the victims are afraid to report for fear of further reprisals.
It should be noted that confiscations have continued since this study was presented, so the figure is now clearly higher and very worrying.
The largest confiscation in history
But Ortega recently surpassed himself and set the record for mass theft in a single day.
Under his command, the National Legislative Assembly approved a new Border Security Law that expands the security zone by 15 kilometers and immediately transfers those territories to the State.
Indigenous populations, protected forest areas, hotels, and tourism developments are located in the new security zone.
Economist and political opponent Juan Sebastián Chamorro explained on social media that 18,000 square kilometers are subject to dispossession.
“This constitutes the largest confiscation in a single day in the history of Nicaragua. It will have devastating effects on property rights and investments,” he warned.
“They’re going to target entire towns, cities within that 15-kilometer range. I don’t know what they’re going to do with Somotillo, San Pedro del Norte, Santo Tomás, Cinco Pinos, Somoto, Dipilto, Teotecacinte, San Carlos on the San Juan River, El Castillo, Sapoá, Cárdenas, Guasaule, Las Manos,” Chamorro said in a wide-ranging interview with journalist Luis Galeano on his program Café con Voz.
He noted that there are luxury tourist developments in the area, but also important coffee farms belonging to private entrepreneurs, which, in fact, have already been confiscated under this new law. He pointed out that everything confiscated is equivalent to almost the entire territory of El Salvador.
“This is a confiscation that won’t go unnoticed. It’s obviously just another confiscation, but given the magnitude, this is beyond logic,” he noted.
The Canal and a Half of Nicaragua “Frozen”
In addition to all these plunders, we must not forget that Daniel Ortega refuses to give up the Grand Interoceanic Canal project.
In May 2024, he repealed Law 840, which granted the project concession to Wang Jing, but left Law 800 in place and the idea of allowing another investor to develop the project.
With a new route, this project not only keeps 445 kilometers of the country under its control, but also jeopardizes the wildlife and fauna of that perimeter, as well as Lake Xolotlán.
This article is a translated and adapted version of “Daniel Ortega, el ‘rey’ de las confiscaciones en Nicaragua” originally published on NicaraguaInvestiga.com. You can read the original Spanish version here.