Nicaraguan opposition asks OAS to declare Ortega regime illegitimate

Nicaraguan opposition factions, human rights organizations, and civil society groups, largely operating in exile, have formally requested the Organization of American States (OAS) to officially recognize the government of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo as illegitimate. This plea was made during the OAS General Assembly held in Panama.

The groups are asking OAS member states to treat the Ortega-Murillo administration not as a legitimate government, but as an "illegitimate regime, both in its origin and in the exercise of power." They reference a November 2021 OAS General Assembly resolution that declared the November 7, 2021, elections in Nicaragua lacked democratic legitimacy, having been neither free, fair, nor transparent. The opposition argues this declaration must now lead to concrete political and institutional consequences.

In a document presented to OAS representatives, the opposition updated the situation over the past eight years, detailing the "grave magnitude of the repression and the dismantling of institutions by the regime." They urgently called for a peaceful and democratic resolution, stating "Nicaragua cannot wait." As of May 2026, at least 46 political prisoners remained incarcerated, with nine individuals reported as forcibly disappeared. The report also noted the arbitrary deprivation of nationality for 452 people, the closure of thousands of civil society organizations, the expulsion of journalists and religious leaders, and the displacement of over 850,000 Nicaraguans since 2018.

Furthermore, the opposition highlighted the death in state custody in May of Miskitu indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera, who had been detained, held incommunicado, and forcibly disappeared for nearly three years. The regime only acknowledged his detention when his health was irreversible. The opposition demanded the release of all political prisoners and proof of life for those forcibly disappeared.