Nicaragua: Rosario Murillo’s New Rings of Power
Murillo omnipresent vs. Ortega absent and isolated: “Direct communication with the comandante is strictly forbidden by the compañera.”
HAVANA TIMES – In Nicaragua, neither the president nor the ruling party has changed since Daniel Ortega returned to the presidency in 2007. But the circle of power around him has changed—and it has shrunk—especially with the unstoppable rise of Rosario Murillo.
Ortega’s wife went from being the campaign communications chief in 2001 to becoming the de facto head of the government cabinet and the regime’s only spokesperson in 2007. She later rose to become vice president of the “50-50” arrangement in 2017, and since 2025 she has been “constitutionally” installed as “co-president” and dynastic successor. Meanwhile, Daniel Ortega appears increasingly weakened and isolated, without real decision-making power, serving only a symbolic and ceremonial role within the regime.
Murillo’s rise took several decades to become formalized, but long before holding office she had already “cleared the way,” eliminating rivals who once seemed untouchable—such as Dionisio “Nicho” Marenco, Lenin Cerna, Humberto Ortega, among others—in a political landscape where there is no room for anyone who dares to question or threaten the throne on which Rosario Murillo sees herself ruling without any shadow over her.
In October 2016, CONFIDENCIAL published the report The Rings of Power and the Operators of Ortega and Murillo, which included, for the first time, an outline of how power was organized in Nicaragua at the time and who its key operators were. Ten years later, after the 2018 citizen uprising was crushed in bloodshed and under a de facto police state, we present the new map of the chain of command managing the four pillars of power:
- Repression and political violence, nationally and transnationally
- The centralization of the State–party apparatus
- Control of the economy, and both official and “unauthorized” corruption
- The censorship of the press and public opinion, and the narrative of official propaganda
In recent years, prominent figures among the regime’s power operators have fallen, such as the national security adviser Néstor Moncada Lau and the presidential economic adviser Bayardo Arce Castaño, one of the FSLN’s “historic” leaders. Meanwhile, the power of Fidel Moreno, Laureano Ortega Murillo, Gustavo Porras, Julio Cesar Aviles, Francisco Diaz, Ovidio Reyes, Luis Cañas, and Wendy Morales has been strengthened under Rosario Murillo’s protection. Under the “co-presidency” of Ortega and Murillo, these are the new rings of power—now subordinated exclusively to her.
The Co-Presidency under Rosario Murillo
For more than a decade, the balance of power between Ortega and Murillo was the regime’s best-kept secret. There were visible conflicts, power struggles, and legendary internal battles that would paralyze government management without any other plausible explanation. In the end, the battle would produce a more or less shared vision between Ortega and Murillo—a kind of consensus within the presidential couple—that determined strategic decisions for the actions of the Government and the Sandinista Front (FSLN) party.
That was the only arena for political deliberation within a personalized regime, where all decisions were made exclusively by the couple—decisions that are now under the hegemonic control of Rosario Murillo.
Before 2017, Ortega focused his primary attention on the “big-picture” areas tied to the de facto power structures: the Army and national security; relations with big business and national and foreign investors; international alliances (ALBA, Caracas, Havana); global centers of power (Washington, Moscow, and China, with which he resumed diplomatic relations in December 2021); and domestic political decisions regarding state institutions and the opposition—areas with strategic implications.
Since 2021—and especially after the proclamation of the “co-presidency” in early 2025—Rosario Murillo has handled everything Ortega traditionally oversaw, including relations with the Army, the conduct of foreign policy, internal politics, and relations with big business. In addition, she remains the administrator of the machinery of government, the organizer of the party and its transmission belts: the Sandinista Youth, the Family Cabinets, the municipal governments, the media outlets, and the Churches. She also directs government policies with political and social impact.
If before 2021 Ortega and Murillo deliberated jointly, today Murillo makes decisions unilaterally and informs Ortega—at her discretion—of decisions that are presented publicly as an act of the “co-presidency.”
One of the most recent examples was the appointment of the new “Murillo-aligned” Supreme Court of Justice, in which she appointed eight justices, while Ortega, for now, has only kept in office the ousted former Chief Justice, Alba Luz Ramos. Ramos was removed from the Supreme Court by Murillo’s orders in October 2023, yet no formal dismissal or resignation has been announced—unlike what occurred with other justices.
If Ortega is an absent ruler—now without veto power—Murillo is omnipresent, with her eccentric and unmistakable attire, her daily monologues on pro-government propaganda outlets run by her children, and her strident rhetoric, in which she hurls insults, shouts, and tramples the rules of the language.
The new Constitution—tailor-made for dynastic succession” has a term no longer of five years but of six, retroactive. The reform stipulates that in the event of the permanent absence of one of the two co-presidents—due to death or resignation before the National Assembly—“the other co-president will complete the term for which they were elected.”
The Rise of the Children as Political Operators
Identified as presidential advisers for private and government matters, the children of the Ortega–Murillo couple have also risen as key operators of power.
Eight of the couple’s nine children hold positions—more or less visible—within the dictatorial apparatus. One controls the oil distribution business and the family’s finances; another serves as the “de facto foreign minister,” advising on investment and trade with Russia and China; and others run television stations and advertising companies, performing strategic functions within the official propaganda and communications machine, while also cultivating a personal fiefdom of representation in communications, art, fashion, and sports, aligned with their own hobbies and interests.
Laureano Ortega Murillo, Primus Inter Pares
The family’s main power broker is the tenor from the Incanto Foundation, Laureano Ortega Murillo, appointed as a de facto foreign minister to manage strategic relations with China and Russia—the government’s principal international allies—serving as the personal representative of the “co-presidency,” outside of, or above, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Laureano is a presidential adviser on investments and international trade and heads ProNicaragua. He served as Ortega’s personal liaison with Wang Jing, the Chinese concessionaire behind the failed interoceanic canal project, and as the State’s representative in economic and political relations with Vladimir Putin’s Russia, as well as in the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China after Nicaragua severed ties with Taiwan. He receives international delegations from allied countries and presides over protocol and social events.
Laureano Ortega has gained prominence within the economic cabinet: alongside the president of the Central Bank, Ovidio Reyes, he participates in meetings with economic ministers and in private negotiations with investors and business leaders. He also accompanies Minister Oscar Mojica at the inauguration of infrastructure projects, and General Julio Cr Avilés at operations to “protect” the coffee harvest alongside producers.
Laureano is the primus inter pares among the children of the ruling family and acts as the official spokesperson for the “co-presidents.” He is often noted for eccentric tastes—such as wearing custom-tailored fine suits, sporting a Rolex, or enjoying champagne and Beluga black caviar priced at $10,000 per kilo at a Russian party held in his honor. Since 2015 he has also served as president of the Incanto Foundation, which organizes the Puccini Opera Festival, with an estimated production cost of nearly $300,000, in which he takes part as a tenor—reflecting his hobby of Italian opera.
Rafael Ortega Murillo, a Discreet Economic Operator
Rafael “Payo” Ortega is a discreet operator who directly manages relations with Venezuela and ALBA, attending regional summits with the rank of minister. He has been displaced by Laureano in the regime’s strategic diplomatic representation, although he did appear in some of the photos marking the reestablishment of diplomatic relations with China in December 2021.
“Payo” Ortega is also a radio and hydrocarbons businessman and controls Grupo Comunicaciones Internacionales Digitales, S.A. (CODISA).
He directly oversees the operations of Albanisa—previously run by Francisco “Chico” Lopez—from which a multimillion-dollar network of private businesses emerged, including DNP Petronic gas stations and Inversiones Zanzíbar.
The DNP Petronic gas stations were shut down due to US sanctions starting in March 2020, but—according to CONFIDENCIAL’s reporting—they began reopening in April 2022, accepting cash payments only in order to evade restrictions on banking transactions.
His son Rafael “Payito” Ortega and his daughter-in-law Margarita Sanchez control the parcel-delivery business, together with Laureano and Maurice Ortega Murillo.
Daniel Edmundo and the Strings of Official Propaganda
Daniel Edmundo Ortega Murillo is the director of the pro-government Channel 4—together with his brother Carlos Enrique (“Tino”), who handles the technical side.
Since late 2021, in addition to serving as director of Multinoticias Channel 4 and representative of the Poder Ciudadano media outlets, he also became Media Coordinator of the Council of Communication and Citizenship (CCC), a structure invented by Ortega for Murillo when it became necessary to justify her spokesperson role under the “uncontaminated information” strategy she designed to monopolize official propaganda.
The eldest of Ortega and Murillo’s biological children is also in charge of close cooperation with Venezuela’s, Russia’s, and China’s news systems and agencies, sidelining his brother Juan Carlos—one year younger—from his prominent role in managing official propaganda. Juan Carlos, however, remains in charge of Channel 8, purchased with funds from Venezuelan cooperation.
Camila Ortega Murillo, Personal Assistant with a Tailor-Made Ministry
Camila Ortega Murillo—like her younger sister Luciana—was appointed as a presidential adviser at a regional summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in January 2015. But her most visible role has been serving as her mother’s personal assistant, carrying and handing over papers, phones, or colorful scarves.
As a child, Camila appeared in official posters for Sandinista propaganda and later returned to public exposure on fashion runways. She later created Nicaragua Diseña, a modeling and design event supported with public funds.
She currently co-directs—together with her siblings Luciana and Maurice—the outlet Viva Nicaragua Channel 13, which plays a strategic role in political propaganda and regime-aligned entertainment. She also serves as a communications liaison and supervisor in the government’s social policy area and in the tourism sector.
Camila Ortega Murillo is also the general coordinator of the “National Commission for the Creative Economy,” created by her parents in April 2019. The Commission includes the Ministry of Education (MINED), the Nicaraguan Tourism Institute (INTUR), the now-defunct Ministry of Family, Community, Cooperative and Associative Economy (MEFCCA), the Ministry of Youth, the National Institute of Culture, the National Film Archive, the National Technological Institute (INATEC), and the Nicaragua Diseña and Nicaragua Emprende platforms.
In January 2025, the dictatorship eliminated MEFCCA, Murillo’s flagship ministry, tainted by corruption. In its place, it created the Ministry for the Promotion of Entrepreneurship, which formally has no minister in charge. In May 2025, Frania Peralta Obregon—former director of Small Businesses at MEFCCA and also the sister of Aaron Peralta, director of Channel 6—was appointed secretary general of the new ministry. However, the dictators’ daughter is the most visible face of the new institution.
In October 2025, Camila also led an official delegation to participate in the Global Forum of Women Protagonists in China to discuss women’s development and empowerment—an event in which her mother elevated her as the country’s representative.
She also manages the Secretariat for the Creative and Orange Economy, an office attached to the Presidency, which received a budget of 1.16 million córdobas in 2025.
Maurice Ortega Murillo, the Most Recent Rise: “Delegate” for Sports
In late 2024, Maurice Ortega Murillo was identified by pro-government media as the presidential delegate tasked with presenting the national flag to the Nicaraguan volleyball team traveling to the Central American championship in San Salvador. That marked the beginning of a meteoric rise at the head of Nicaraguan sports—whether to send off national teams, welcome sports stars, or inaugurate facilities.
Maurice Ortega is the presidential delegate for sports, tasked with overseeing the Nicaraguan Institute of Sports (IND) and its leadership, and promoting the public image of his parents in that sphere.
Before that, Maurice was one of the children who kept a lower profile, though not exempt from positions and connections.
In 2010, he married Blanca Diaz Flores, the daughter of Francisco Diaz, who would later be promoted to director of the National Police.
Since 2011, he has run Channel 13 together with Camila and Luciana—also acquired using public funds—and in 2014 he was identified as being responsible for the TV Noticias division of Channel 2, one of the last private television channels acquired by the family conglomerate.
In October 2025, he also traveled to China alongside his sister Camila, identified as director of Viva Nicaragua Channel 13 and as a member of the Council of Communication and Citizenship.
Like their mother Rosario Murillo, the children of the dictatorial couple never seem to lack titles or hats—inside or outside the State—always operating under her orders.
This report is part of CONFIDENCIAL’s special series Rosario Murillo’s Rings of Power, which describes the new map of the chain of command managing the four pillars of power: political repression; control of the State–party apparatus; management of the economy and corruption; and censorship and official propaganda.
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[Editor’s Note: A pivotal moment in the rise to power of Rosario Murillo came in 1998 when her daughter, Zoilamerica, Ortega’s stepdaugter, accused the Sandinista leader of 19 years of rape and sexual abuse starting when she was 11 years old. Murillo defended her powerful husband instead of her own daughter, the victim. When Ortega came back into power in 2007, Murillo began to cash in her chips.]