Daniel Ortega Calls on Nicaraguans to “Prepare for War”
He claims to have the military support of Russia and China
The dictatorship Calls to “Prepare for War” and Defend Peace, days after ordering “Revolutionary Vigilance” in Nicaragua
HAVANA TIMES – Ten days after Daniel Ortega ordered his supporters to maintain “revolutionary vigilance” throughout the national territory, he called on Nicaraguans to “be prepared for war” in the name of “defending peace” and affirmed that, if necessary, he has military backing from Russia and China.
“Our relations with the People’s Republic of China are extraordinary, and in the messages they have sent us (…) they make it clear that they will provide all kinds of assistance to Nicaragua, including defense aid. They said it clearly. They wrote it clearly,” said the dictator on July 29, 2025.
The president used the event marking the 46th anniversary of the founding of the Nicaraguan Army’s Air Force and Air Defense to escalate his rhetoric war and call on his base to remain alert.
“We must have a spirit of combat—not because we like to fight, but because history around the world continues to show us that we stand between war and peace. And if we want to defend peace, we must always be prepared for war,” Ortega said.
At the event, he thanked both China and Russia for their willingness to cooperate with Nicaragua. “Today we are a nation blessed by God, because we have those great nations that bring only wellbeing to the people,” he said.
Order for Revolutionary Vigilance
In his July 19, 2025 speech, the dictator spoke about defending peace in Nicaragua and urged his base to remain vigilant so that “terrorists, conspirators, and traitors have no space, because they will know that as soon as they are discovered, they will be captured and prosecuted.”
In both addresses, the dictator pointed to the United States as his main enemy, accusing it of trying to interfere with his rule.
“How many Nicaraguans died just during the struggle against Somoza and later during the fight against the Yankee intervention led by Ronald Reagan? Over 100,000 Nicaraguans. And even as their comrades fell, the fighters did not flee—they kept fighting,” Ortega recalled.
In May 2025, the Nicaraguan dictators announced that China would supply equipment to the Nicaraguan Army “to strengthen the defense of sovereignty and peace,” through the company Poly Technologies, a subsidiary of China Poly Group Corporation. This company was sanctioned by the United States in June 2024 for facilitating the trade of sensitive military technologies to sanctioned Russian defense firms.
In June 2023, China donated full riot gear, shields, gloves, helmets, batons, and bulletproof vests to the Nicaraguan National Police—the main repressive arm of the dictators.
“People are rising up all over the world, and that is where war will end and peace will be established globally,” Ortega claimed.
For her part, co-dictator Rosario Murillo said, “Now we feel supported, accompanied by the powers of this world, and always fighting against the Yankee, enemy of humanity. But well, these battles must be fought, and today we fight them with more common sense.”
Accuses the US of Wanting War
In his political speech, Ortega accused the United States of seeking war, blinded by its desire for “power” and its aim of “wanting to be the masters of the world.” “They want all countries to be subordinate to them,” he claimed.
Ironically, in Nicaragua it is Ortega himself who has subdued the population through repression, dismantled the separation of powers, and imposed his wife, Rosario Murillo, as “co-president” without her being elected, to run the country as she pleases.
“To win peace, you must win the war, and we are witnessing the enormous wars being waged around the world. Look how behind the Jewish regime stands the US government, and behind the Jewish government are the countries that pride themselves on being the most democratic in the world and who make up NATO,” he criticized.
“There is truly no greater force, no more powerful force to win peace and overcome death, overcome wars, than the spirit of struggle, of combat, of defending families, of defending the peace of the people,” Ortega insisted.
First published in Spanish by Confidencial and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.