Nicaraguan Opposition Leader Warns Constitutional Change Could Put Thousands of Jobs at Risk

Nicaragua's constitutional reform has moved beyond a political dispute, according to opposition leader Juan Sebastián Chamorro, who warned that it could put thousands of jobs at risk. His warning followed a U.S. request for international partners not to trade with Nicaragua.

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Nearly 50% of Nicaragua's exports go to the United States, so thousands of jobs could be at risk.

The reform, promoted by President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo, passed its first required legislative approval on Tuesday. It would bar people labeled “traitors to the homeland” from elected office and extend the presidential term to seven years. A second approval by the next National Assembly would still be required before the changes take effect.

Chamorro said Nicaragua's preferential trade treatment with the United States was already threatened by what he called the elimination of elections. He noted that nearly half of Nicaragua's exports go to the United States, warning that thousands of jobs could be affected. He also said Nicaragua was under review under U.S. trade law and that Washington could impose special tariffs without suspending Nicaragua from the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement.

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We have repeatedly said that the damage to Nicaragua's commercial and economic relations with other countries is exclusively Ortega's responsibility, because he has brought Nicaragua to this level of risk.

Speaking from exile, Chamorro blamed Ortega for putting the country's commercial and economic relationships at risk. He said the government had crossed a red line on July 19 by announcing the end of elections, then proceeded with what he called a sham constitutional reform instead of reversing course. Chamorro said the State Department's response showed the government had misjudged the seriousness of U.S. policy.

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Ortega crossed a red line on July 19 by announcing the end of elections in Nicaragua.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the Ortega-Murillo-controlled legislature had undermined Nicaragua's democratic façade to consolidate an illegitimate dynasty and deny Nicaraguans free and fair elections indefinitely. The new measures must also be approved by the legislature that begins its term on Jan. 9, 2027, and runs through Dec. 15, 2027.

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The Ortega-Murillo-controlled National Assembly undermined Nicaragua's democratic fiction to consolidate its illegitimate dynasty and indefinitely deprive Nicaraguans of free and fair elections.