Rubio excoriates Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega over plan to scrap elections

Published July 21, 2026 4:40pm ET



Secretary of State Marco Rubio called Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega a dictator after the Central American leader vowed to abolish elections.

​“Daniel Ortega’s declaration that under his family’s dictatorship Nicaragua will never again hold elections lays bare their true authoritarian nature,” a State Department statement released Tuesday said. “Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo have abandoned even the pretense of popular consent.”

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