Nicaragua VP Murillo vows 'dictatorship will never return' as she attacks exiled opposition

Nicaragua's Vice President Rosario Murillo launched a scathing attack on the country's exiled opposition, declaring with forceful rhetoric that "the dictatorship of this traitorous terrorism will never return!"

Murillo's strong words came weeks after her husband and co-president, Daniel Ortega, announced that "elections will no longer happen" in Nicaragua. This statement was followed by a proposed constitutional reform in the National Assembly. The reform aims to extend the copresidency term from six to seven years and make it renewable. It also seeks to constitutionally bar individuals labeled as "coup plotters" or "traitors to the homeland" from political participation, ostensibly to prevent foreign interference and coups.

The country's last general elections in November 2021 saw the exclusion of key opposition candidates, many of whom were arrested beforehand. The next elections are scheduled for November 2027, following a previous constitutional amendment that extended the presidential term from five to six years.

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The dictatorship of this traitorous terrorism will never return! They know it. Know it well!

Murillo further denigrated the opposition, calling them "vandals" who lack "love of country" or "any form of love." She accused them of fabricating narratives and falsely presenting themselves as representatives of the Nicaraguan people. She prayed for God to forgive their ignorance and grant them the strength to recognize their insignificance and their betrayal of a peaceful nation deserving of the best.

Ortega, an 80-year-old former Sandinista guerrilla, has governed Nicaragua since 2007. His administration faces persistent accusations of electoral fraud, political persecution, and the elimination of rivals to stifle electoral competition. He has held power in Nicaragua for the longest period, with a total of thirty years, including his coordination of a Government Junta from 1979 to 1985 and his first presidential term from 1985 to 1990.

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To the vandals, traitors, and cowards who do not know love for Nicaragua, as always, we only ask God to forgive their ignorance, and give them the strength to recognize that they are no one, nor anything, much less to be plotting crimes against a peaceful people who deserve the best. Nothing and no one are for this Nicaragua that they betrayed.