An Argentine judge has issued an arrest warrant for Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega over alleged “systematic violation of human rights,” according to a lawyer who filed the case.
The warrant also extends to Ortega’s wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, and is based on the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows for prosecution of crimes against humanity outside the country where they occurred.
Federal Judge Ariel Lijo has additionally ordered the arrest of a dozen individuals associated with Ortega’s regime.
The charges against Ortega and Murillo include murder, forced disappearances, torture, and “deportation or forced transfer of population,” lawyer Dario Richarte said.
The complaint was filed in 2022 by a group of prosecutors from the University of Buenos Aires.
Ortega, 79, a former guerrilla leader, has adopted increasingly authoritarian practices since reclaiming power in 2007, consolidating control over all state branches.
His administration has targeted dissent, shutting down over 5,000 NGOs following a violent crackdown on 2018 protests that the United Nations reports resulted in more than 300 deaths.
Currently, most independent and opposition media operate from abroad.
Since February 2023, nearly 450 individuals—politicians, business figures, journalists, intellectuals, human rights advocates, and religious leaders—have had their citizenship revoked, accused of “treason.”
Ana Piquer, Amnesty International’s Americas director, warned earlier this month that no one in Nicaragua is safe from Ortega’s “repressive machinery.” “From indigenous leaders, journalists, human rights defenders, and anyone seen as a risk to government policies, the authorities continue to consolidate the climate of fear,” she added.
