The Life and Crimes of Daniel Ortega

Leftist Nicaraguan Dictator’s Bloodlust Spans Decades

Workers install a billboard supporting Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega along a street in Managua, Nicaragua, on Dec. 21, 2015. The opposition claims the presidential election in 2016 was a fraud as Ortega demonstrates many facets of a classic Latin American dictator. AP Photo/Esteban Felix

Nicaragua has again appeared in international news after the nation’s authoritarian government killed at least 47 protesters in April. Protests continue, but news coverage forgets that violence and illegality are standard procedure for the regime leader Daniel Ortega and his socialist clique.

The rise of Ortega, from Marxist guerrilla to Nicaraguan president, is a warning for nations grappling with their own terrorists, such as Chile and Colombia. It shows how the vulnerabilities of democracy and why we should limit state power.

The Rise of Ortega

Ortega’s political ambitions began with the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), where he became a terrorist leader determined to overthrow then-President Anastasio Somoza. The young guerrilla’s first FSLN crime was bank robbery, but that was nothing compared to what was to come.