There is a saying in the Spanish-speaking world that applies perfectly to the topic at hand: “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” The legacy of leftist violence in Latin America — and the impetus Castroism gave to guerrilla groups and terrorists in the region — continues to have consequences to this day, as noted in a recent State Department report.

In 1979, the Nicaraguan leftist movement known as Sandinismo seized power in Managua under Commander Daniel Ortega. They opposed the dictatorial regime of the Somoza family, yet their goal was not to end the bloodshed, but to inflict even more — all under the personal tutelage of Fidel Castro.

In the book “Operación Calipso” (Operation Calypso), Castro-era General Fabián Escalante recounts how Cuba “birthed” Nicaragua’s new political police force, providing everything from tactical training to intelligence sharing. Havana dispatched military advisors to help the Sandinista army annihilate the resistance — known as La Contra — and bolstered Ortega’s abuses through propaganda, sending journalists to report for international outlets like Prensa Latina.

After the civil war, Ortega left office, but in 2007 — under the banner of “21st Century Socialism” and the São Paulo Forum — he returned to power, not through the barrel of a gun, but via the ballot box.

Since then, in addition to opening the Central American nation’s doors to Chinese influence, the former guerrilla fighter has entrenched himself in power, leading to the events of last Sunday that give this article its headline. During a mass rally in Managua commemorating the 47th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution, he declared: “Here [in Nicaragua], there will never be elections again — no more opportunities for them [the opposition] to try to seize the government.” In other words, the leader of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) explicitly buried any possibility of a democratic transfer of power in the country. The ruling party’s control must take precedence over the popular will should the latter diverge from the views of the octogenarian Ortega.

This is not his first anti-democratic “outrage” — a track record that includes massacres and bizarre constitutional maneuvers.

For instance, his wife — the notorious “witch” Rosario Murillo — had served as Nicaragua’s vice president since 2017 but was designated “co-president” in February 2025 following a constitutional reform.

Furthermore, while Nicaragua was scheduled to hold general elections in November 2026, constitutional amendments extended the presidential term, theoretically pushing the vote to November 2027.

In 2018, massive protests erupted across the country in response to Sandinista-proposed reforms to the Social Security Law. Ortega’s response was brutal: approximately 355 people were killed, over 2,000 were injured, and more than 2,000 Nicaraguans were arbitrarily detained.

According to the findings of the Interdisciplinary Group of Independent Experts (GIEI-Nicaragua), the Managua government engaged in conduct that could constitute crimes against humanity — including murder, unlawful imprisonment, persecution, rape, torture, and enforced disappearance.

Nicaragua now finds itself cornered, coming at a time when the White House has effectively decapitated the Chavismo movement with the January 3 capture of Nicolás Maduro and is intensifying pressure on Havana. With his allies weakened, Ortega began lashing out at Washington during his Sunday speech.

From the podium, Ortega expressed solidarity and affection for the former Venezuelan dictator — whom he described as the victim of a “monstrosity” — and referred to President Donald Trump’s administration as “diabolical beasts” seeking to “dominate peoples in order to steal their wealth.”

Anti-imperialist and Third-Worldist rhetoric no longer resonates as it once did. Even global left-leaning outlets like El País are distancing themselves from Ortega’s renewed authoritarian turn. And, to his misfortune, the current State Department has proven far less patient with socialist dictators than its predecessors.