8 de octubre 2024
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Humberto Ortega, the founder and former head of the Nicaraguan Army, died while being held as a political prisoner by the regime of his brother, Daniel Ortega. He was imprisoned after he opposed and questioned the “dynastic succession” of power to Vice President Rosario Murillo and her children. His death has generated underground unrest in the ranks of the Army, the government, and the Sandinista Front party.
“The Army's oddly complimentary statement made it clear that there's enormous internal discomfort with the way Humberto Ortega was treated, how he was imprisoned, and the reasons for which he was imprisoned,” says Dora Maria Tellez, historian and political activist.
“There is no internal cohesion within the Army around the servitude to which the Ortega-Murillo family has subjected the institution to its interests and desire for control. The Ortega-Murillo family doesn't even represent the Sandinista Front party, they only represent themselves and their economic interests, and their interest in a dynastic succession,” according to Tellez.
In an interview for the program Esta Semana, which aired on October 7th on CONFIDENCIAL's YouTube channel due to television censorship in Nicaragua, Tellez analyzed the issue of the “dynastic succession” that Rosario Murillo intends to impose “come hell or high water” and which is a backdrop to the death of Humberto Ortega.
“Everyone knows what people are talking about in the hallways of the Sandinista Front, the Army, the Police, and the government. Rosario Murillo's race to gain total control began more than a year and a half ago, and the purges in the State institutions continue to increase in response to Murillo's need to have a close-knit circle of loyalty around her,” says the former guerrilla.
“If there's something we Nicaraguans have to understand is that we will only be able to stop the dynastic succession with our resistance and our opposition, and with our political activity, however we want to do it,” said Tellez, the founder of the Sandinista Renovation Movement, now called Unamos.
Humberto wasn’t forgiven for questioning a “dynastic succession”
Humberto Ortega is the third political prisoner since 2019 to die in police custody of the dictatorship. First, it was Eddy Montes, killed in the Modelo prison, then Hugo Torres, who was held prisoner in El Chipote, and now Humberto Ortega, who was under de facto house arrest. What is the significance of this pattern of political prisoners' deaths?
It reveals the conditions for political prisoners in Nicaragua, but also who the regime chooses to jail. To imprison a person over 70 who has chronic illnesses, like the case of Humberto [Ortega], is totally barbaric. What happened to Eddy Montes was a shooting, a murder, and nobody has done any kind of investigation into his murder. And in the case of Hugo [Torres], it was total negligence. Hugo was over 70 years old, too, but he was completely healthy. He wasn't taking any medication when he arrived at the prison.
In the case of Humberto Ortega, many people wonder why he died in total isolation, after having been condemned for treason in a public statement by his own brother Daniel Ortega, with whom he had had previous contact and exchanges during Humberto's illness.
They didn’t forgive Humberto for saying that there was no possibility for Daniel Ortega's succession, that it would be necessary to open paths for a democratic transition in Nicaragua, and that this would have to be done through negotiation, seeking conditions for the opposition to be able to act. From the point of view of Rosario Murillo and Daniel Ortega, this was absolutely unforgivable. And they decided that silencing Humberto Ortega was a way to set an example and show that no one can speak out, not even Daniel Ortega's own brother. So they treated him with total hatred, combined with all the baggage that Rosario Murillo has always had with Humberto Ortega.
There are now high-ranking public officials who are being imprisoned. Many are missing, they're not allowed to visit their families, they're being kept totally isolated. They have no defense attorneys, they're convicted on Zoom. The violation of human rights has been extended not only to the political opposition or to those whom the Ortega regime suspects of being opponents, but also within their own ranks, within the Sandinista Front itself.
Did the order to imprison Humberto Ortega after he gave those statements questioning the dynastic succession come from Daniel Ortega or Rosario Murillo?
I think it was a decision cooked up between the two of them at the kitchen table. You can clearly see the hand of Daniel Ortega, enraged because he felt that Humberto had used his [Daniel's] visit as an opportunity to make some statements, giving the impression that [Daniel] had authorized them. And obviously Rosario Murillo felt that Humberto Ortega had completely discarded her as Daniel's successor, and she was right. But, in addition, Humberto said that the Nicaraguan Army had to prepare itself to play a role in the democratic transition, which is also an unforgivable position for Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
Purges in the government, Police, Army and FSLN
So do you think Humberto Ortega's imprisonment, and now his death, are putting the issue of dynastic succession at the center of the debate in the country, at least within the Sandinista government and in the Army?
Yes, Everyone knows what people are talking about in the hallways of the Sandinista party, the Army, the Police and the government. Rosario Murillo's race to gain total control began more than a year and a half ago, and the purges in the State institutions continue to increase in response to Murillo's need to have a close-knit circle of loyalty around her.
They fired the Foreign Minister, [Denis] Moncada. They fired the Vice-Minister [Arlette Marenco], and they fired another inside person. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs was practically beheaded. They will be replaced by people who obey Rosario Murillo's orders. Without a doubt, she has taken more and more control of the public institutions and the people who head them.
What impact might there be among senior Army officers and in the ranks of the death of the founder and former head of the Army, dying as a political prisoner of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo for opposing dynastic succession?
To me, the measure of what is happening within the Army can be seen in the Army's statement. It's a strangely crafted statement. One day before [Humberto Ortega's death], he was being called simply “the patient” Humberto Ortega, and 24 hours later, they were already referring to “the commanders, officers, soldiers, marines, pilots, paratroopers.” The Army's oddly complimentary statement makes it clear there's enormous internal discomfort with the way Humberto Ortega was treated, with how he was imprisoned, and the reasons for which he was imprisoned. But [the discomfort is] not only over that, but also over how military commanders are being treated, the fact that they and their families are in increasingly bad conditions.
The exaggerated statement has to do with all of that. If you look at the last sentence it says something like “with firmness, decisiveness, and cohesion.” You only mention cohesion when you need cohesion. It is clear that there is no internal cohesion within the Army around the servitude to which the Ortega-Murillo family has subjected the institution to its own interests and desire for control. The Ortega-Murillo family doesn't even represent the Sandinista Front party, they only represent themselves and their economic interests, and obviously, their interest in a dynastic succession.
Human rights, truth, justice and revenge
In the audio message that Humberto Ortega recorded for CONFIDENCIAL [to be released after his death], he describes himself as a political prisoner. However, after his death, there has been some discussion among certain sectors, including former political prisoners, as to whether or not Humberto Ortega was a political prisoner. In contrast, other sectors have rather celebrated his death because they condemn the role he played in the war in the 1980s.
The best analysis I've heard about this is what Yader Morazan said in a tweet: what is defined as a political prisoner is an international definition. You are a political prisoner if you are imprisoned because of expressing your opinion, taking part in politics, or civically opposing your government. That's what happened to Humberto Ortega. Technically, from the point of view of this international definition, he was a political prisoner.
If we're going to defend human rights, we will defend the human rights of all Nicaraguans, without distinction. It can't be like "No, I don't like this guy so it's good that they kill him," or "I like that one" and consider that okay. Human rights should be for everyone, without distinction. Right now four people are missing. One of them was an official at the Supreme Court. Her sister and her husband are missing. What were they accused of? Wanting to leave the country. How can that be? It's a violation of their human rights. They are not being allowed visits, no one knows where they are. These are human rights violations.
Looking to the future, this also reflects deep wounds in the country and how some people react to these situations. But it also reveals how the country has never confronted its truth or history. Justice and truth are absent.
This is the problem we've had, that we always turn the page. That is why some time ago we proposed a Truth Commission, where people can go to say: "I want to know what happened on January 22nd [1967] and the names of the people who were massacred." There's not even a list of the people who were massacred that day.
I want to know who killed friends of mine and why. There are investigations that have never been done. People want to know and have the right to know the truth of what happened. The country has the right to know the truth of what happened. The country has the right to know about Red Christmas [1981] with an official report from an investigative entity that says "This is what happened," so that the country learns. Institutions have to face it and be told: "Look at yourself in this mirror." This is the institutional action that has to happen in order for us to learn as Nicaraguans.
If we don't do this, we will continue on this treadmill forever. We'll never get out of this vicious cycle of dictatorship and civil wars and revenge and dictatorships, civil wars and amnesty. There has to be an effort for truth and justice.
In the meantime and at this point, what remains of the dynastic succession plan? Is it going to be imposed by force?
There is no doubt in my mind that Rosario Murillo is determined to impose herself come hell or high water. A large part of the current repressive model is due to Rosario Murillo's frustration at not being able to impose herself completely, for not being able to get rid of the resistance or the opposition, and for not being able to liquidate who she considers her enemies completely. She is never satisfied.
She's not satisfied with having completely dismantled the diocese of Matagalpa. She wants to continue getting rid of everything in her way. If she can close all the churches, she'll close them. If she can destroy all the NGOs, she will destroy them. If she can throw all the priests in jail, she'll throw them in jail.
If there's one thing we Nicaraguans must understand, it’s that we can only stop the dynastic succession through resistance, opposition, and political activity. Whether it be in the form of underground, clandestine, covert efforts, international action, or using traditional and social media— by anyone who can do something to stop this model of dynastic succession that is already being set up in the country. We are the only ones who can stop it.
This article was published in Spanish in Confidencial and translated by our staff. To get the most relevant news from our English coverage delivered straight to your inbox, subscribe to The Dispatch.
