In the most recent update of its report on the Commission of Crimes against Humanity in Nicaragua, the United Nations group of experts has first revealed a list of names and surnames of 54 Sandinista officials involved in the deadly and sustained among them, 11 military, ministers, presidential advisors, deputies, magistrates, political secretaries, mayors and paramilitaries. The list represents the most direct, documented and detailed signaling against the repressive apparatus of the regime to date.
Presented in Geneva this Thursday, April 3, the report of the group of experts concludes that all these officials played a fundamental role in the execution of policies of repression, surveillance, torture, arbitrary arrests, forced disappearances, dispossession of nationality and confiscation of goods. All acted in coordination and responding to those who direct the repressive command apparatus that, only in 2018, the year of mass social protests, with lethal shots aimed at their heads, necks and thorax. But almost 900,000 Nicaraguans displaced to other countries in the last seven years as a result of political persecution and economic precariousness rigged to lack of freedoms are added.
According to the group of experts, the now “co -chants” command a structure of power without counterweights, which has subordinated all the powers of the State to the Executive. He consolidated this control by de facto eliminating the separation of powers and granting almost absolute powers to the presidency occupied by the Ortega-Murillo, contextualizes the group’s report, which is directed by the lawyer but also has new members such as Reed Brody, another American jurist recognized for his work in the fight against the impunity of human rights violators, which is why the
“What we discover is a closely coordinated repression system, which extends from the Presidency to local officials,” said Ariela Peralta, an expert of the team, during the presentation of the report in Geneva, where also the UN Human Rights Council renewed the mandate of experts to follow their inquiries.
The chain of command
Simon said that what the report reconstructs “are not random or isolated incidents, but respond to a deliberate and well -orchestrated state policy, which is carried out by identifiable actors through defined command chains.” The orders were executed through a network of controls that included the National Police, under the command of Francisco Díaz Madriz (Consuegro of the “co -presidential” couple) and the deputy director Ramón Avellán, both in charge of detention operations, repression of protests and extrajudicial executions.
And although the military does not deny it repeatedly, the group that collaborated in logistics and surveillance, and facilitated the use of lethal weapons to paramilitary groups. They also point to the Judiciary, headed by Marvin Aguilar García, who guaranteed judicial impunity through rigged judgments and the application of repressive laws.
In another line the Public Ministry appears, led by Ana Julia Guido until 2024, was responsible for the manufacture of charges and selective criminal persecution. The Ministry of Interior and the General Directorate of Migration and Foreigners, executed the cancellation of nationalities and entry prohibitions. The National Assembly, chaired by Gustavo Porras, approved laws to legalize repression and justify the persecution of dissidents. All these officials, police and military loyal to the marrow to the Ortega-Murillo.
The other parastatal structures
The group of experts emphasizes that this network does not operate only from the State, but also involves party structures of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) and Sandinista youth, for example, was used as an operational arm in the surveillance, harassment and repression of demonstrations.
In turn, the FSLN has consolidated a network of national, departmental and municipal political secretaries that serve as a bridge between the executive orders and its territorial implementation. The report documents how these party structures are functionally integrated into the state apparatus, with parallel lines that connect ministries, mayors, public universities, health centers and local committees with the official party. These relationships allow the execution of repressive tasks in a coordinated manner, including the use of public goods for partisan purposes, the infiltration of educational institutions and the creation of civil informants networks.
The pro -government armed groups, which operate without uniform and with state logistics support, performed a key role during the 2018 protests, and since then they have been used in actions of intimidation, surveillance and aggression against dissidents. According to the report, these groups were trained and financed by state institutions, including the Army and the National Police. And in the end, recently, legalized by the constitutional reform of last February and, for a total of 76,800 hooded troops that this April first went to the streets of the municipalities of Nicaragua to counteract the commemoration of the seventh anniversary of the 2018 protests.
UN experts argue that these findings do not constitute a judicial conviction, but represent a solid basis to initiate criminal investigations. Argentina has already initiated universal justice processes against Ortega, Murillo and several of those involved. The group of experts is willing to collaborate with international judicial authorities. On the other hand, the Civil Organizations Platform, agglutinated in the 46/2 collective celebrated the extension of the group’s mandate.
“The resolution of the UN Human Rights Council, which today renews the mandate of the group of experts and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, is a key step in the fight against impunity and strengthening of the International System of Human Rights,” said Claudia Pineda, director of the NGO Legal Defense Unit. “It guarantees the documentation and preservation of evidence on human rights violations, ensuring that the crimes are investigated and their identified responsible.”
This is the list of repressors disseminated by the United Nations:
- Marvin Ramiro Aguilar García, magistrate of the Supreme Court of Justice;
- Venancio Miguel Alaniz Ulloa, deputy general director of the Penitentiary System;
- Ramón Antonio Avellán Medal, deputy general director of the National Police;
- Julio César Avilés Castillo, commander in chief of the National Army;
- Rigoberto Boanerge Balladares Sandoval, former Chief of Military Intelligence;
- Luis Roberto Cañas Novoa, Deputy Minister of Interior;
- Leónidas Nicolás Centeno Rivera, mayor of Jinotega;
- Karen Vanessa Chavarría Morales, Criminal Judge of Managua;
- Evertz Delgadillo Moreno, political secretary FSLN in Chontales;
- Francisco Javier Díaz Madriz, general director of the National Police;
- Luis Ángel González Moncada, Criminal Judge of Managua;
- Ana Julia Guido Ochoa, Attorney General of the Republic (until 2024);
- Carlos Alberto Herrera Duarte, Criminal District Judge;
- Brenda Isabel Izaguirre García, judge of the Court of Hearing Managua;
- Ana Cecilia Jarquín Ordoñez, political secretary of the FSLN in Rivas;
- Enrique José Jarquín Rivas, political secretary of the FSLN en Masaya;
- María Amanda Lorío Centeno, Departmental Political Secretary in León;
- Johana Lisseth López, political secretary of the FSLN in Tipitapa;
- Ramón Antonio López García, General Director of Criminal Centers;
- Enrique Antonio López, political secretary of the FSLN in Jinotepe;
- Marisol María Membreño, political secretary in Ocotal;
- Anielka Elizabeth Mejía Téllez, political secretary in Chinandega;
- Pedro Joaquín Mendoza Fernández, political secretary in Estelí;
- Bayardo Enrique Mendoza García, General Commissioner of the Police;
- Carlos Emilio Morales Dávila, General Commissioner, Departmental Chief;
- Rubén Alberto Montenegro Espinoza, Criminal Judge of Juigalpa;
- Justa Pérez, Minister of Family Economy;
- Gustavo Eduardo Porras Cortés, president of the National Assembly;
- Luis Humberto Potoy Reyes, departmental political secretary FSLN;
- Fidel Ernesto Rodríguez, Criminal Judge of Managua;
- Rosa Argentina Salgado, political secretary of the FSLN in Managua;
- Enrique José Saénz, auxiliary prosecutor of the Public Ministry;
- Martha Eugenia Salazar Solórzano, political secretary of the FSLN;
- Mario Antonio Salinas Steps, departmental political secretary of Matagalpa;
- Roberto José Samcam Ruiz, Departmental Political Secretary of Nueva Segovia;
- Alma Nubia Sandoval Sandoval, departmental political secretary en Masaya;
- Luis Ramón Suárez García, departmental political secretary in Chontales;
- Pedro Joaquín Tapia Álvarez, departmental political secretary in Boaco;
- Orlando Rafael afternoon, Legal Advisor of the Executive before the Assembly;
- Martín Ricardo Tinoco, General Director of Penitentiary Services;
- Justo Urbina Pastor, Chief of Migration and Foreigners;
- Bertha Díaz Urbina, Criminal District Judge;
- Nidia Maritza Vílchez Martínez, political secretary of the FSLN;
- Evertz Zeledón, departmental political secretary in Río San Juan;
- Zayda Nelly Pérez Escoto, political secretary in Matagalpa;
- Celia Francisca Delgado, departmental political secretary of the FSLN;
- Rubén Vargas Canelo, Criminal Judge of Managua;
- Alejandro José Guevara, Criminal Judge of Matagalpa;
- Marta Lidia Galeano, political secretary of the FSLN;
- Sara María González, political secretary in Managua;
- Edgar Téllez, Deputy Minister of Interior;
- Deyling Cárdenas, political secretary in the North Caribbean;
- Rosa Argentina Pastrán, departmental political secretary in Boaco;
- Nelly Maribel Hernández, political secretary of the FSLN in León.
