DANIEL ORTEGA

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has had his political opponents beaten and thrown in jail and passed legislation making criticism of the government a form of treason. Sharyn Alfonsi reports on the loss of democracy in Nicaragua.

The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Nicaragua’s state-owned gold mining company and the president of its board of directors partly over the Central American nation’s ties to Russia.

The U.S. State Department has imposed visa restrictions on 93 more Nicaraguan officials for their role in supporting the regime of President Daniel Ortega

A spokesperson for Russia's foreign ministry called it a "routine — twice a year — procedure."

The government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has authorized Russian troops, planes and ships to deploy to Nicaragua for purposes of training, law enforcement or emergency response

The government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has authorized Russian troops, planes and ships to deploy to Nicaragua for purposes of training, law enforcement or emergency response.

The government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has authorized Russian troops, planes and ships to deploy to Nicaragua for purposes of training, law enforcement or emergency response. In a decree published this week, and confirmed by Russia on Thursday, Ortega will allow Russian troops to carry out law enforcement duties, “humanitarian aid, rescue and search missions in emergencies or natural disasters.” The Nicaraguan government also authorized the presence of small contingents of Russian troops for “exchange of experiences and training.”

Nicaragua’s Sandinista-controlled congress has cancelled nearly 200 nongovernmental organizations this week, ranging from a local equestrian group to the 94-year-old Nicaraguan Academy of Letters, in what critics say is President Daniel Ortega’s attempt to eliminate the country’s civil society

Nicaragua’s Sandinista-controlled congress has cancelled nearly 200 nongovernmental organizations this week, ranging from a local equestrian group to the 94-year-old Nicaraguan Academy of Letters, in what critics say is President Daniel Ortega’s attempt to eliminate the country’s civil society.

Nicaragua’s Sandinista-controlled congress has cancelled nearly 200 nongovernmental organizations this week, ranging from a local equestrian center to the 94-year-old Nicaraguan Academy of Letters, in what critics say is President Daniel Ortega’s attempt to eliminate the country’s civil society. On Thursday, lawmakers from Ortega’s party and their allies voted unanimously — there were 14 abstentions — to cancel 96 organizations. Since popular street protests turned against Ortega’s government in April 2018, the government has cancelled more than 400.

The government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has ordered the closure of 83 more civic groups and non-governmental organizations

A Nicaraguan environmental group says a local Indigenous leader and his son have died in a gunfight with land invaders who tried to run them off their land near Nicaragua’s northern Caribbean coast

A Roman Catholic bishop in Nicaragua has begun an “indefinite fast” inside a church to protest increasing harassment from national police, who he said followed him throughout the entire previous day

A Roman Catholic bishop in Nicaragua has begun an “indefinite fast” inside a church to protest increasing harassment from national police, who he said followed him throughout the entire previous day.

The Biden administration is unlikely to invite the leaders of Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba to the upcoming Summit of the Americas, a senior State Department official said Wednesday while sidestepping questions about an eventual role for Venezuela's opposition leader at the gathering of hemispheric leaders. The summit, to take place in Los Angeles in early June, will focus on defending democracy and human rights in the Western Hemisphere as well as addressing irregular migration, climate change and efforts to ensure equitable growth as the region emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic, Assistant Secretary of State Brian Nichols told reporters.

The Nicaraguan government says it is closing the Nicaragua offices of the Organization of the American States and expelling the staff

The Nicaraguan government said Sunday it is closing the Nicaragua offices of the Organization of the American States and expelling the staff. The announcement was the latest in a string of dozens of expulsions or jailings carried out by the government of President Daniel Ortega. In March, Nicaragua suffered the humilliating criticism of the country’s own ambassador to the OAS criticizing the arrests.

Four years after university students led protests against Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega’s government, his administration is minimizing the chance of a reoccurrence by seizing a dozen private universities and closing them or shifting control to the state

Four years after university students led protests against Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega’s government, his administration is minimizing the chance of a reoccurrence by seizing a dozen private universities and closing them or shifting control to the state.

Nicaragua’s ambassador to the Organization of the American States says he had been feeling a “weight in his heart” for the last couple of weeks.

The Vatican has expressed “surprise and pain” at Nicaragua’s expulsion of the papal nuncio, which comes at a time of growing pressure on opposition figures in the Central American nation

The Vatican on Saturday expressed “surprise and pain” at Nicaragua's expulsion of the papal nuncio, which comes at a time of growing pressure on opposition figures in the Central American nation. Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag was “grave and unjustified.” It said the action was “incomprehensible” because Sommertag “has worked tirelessly for the good of the church and of the Nicaraguan people,” while “always seeking to promote good relations” between the Vatican and Nicaraguan authorities.

Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo have crushed civil society and thrown their former comrades in jail. What remains of the Sandinista ideal?

One-time Nicaragua presidential aspirant Cristiana Chamorro and one of her brothers were among five people formally placed on trial Thursday. Chamorro, 68, has been under house arrest since June 2. Chamorro, her brother Pedro Joaquín Chamorro and three former employees of the Violeta Barrios de Chamorro Foundation will be tried for money laundering and other alleged crimes.

Nicaraguan judges have convicted seven opposition leaders, including former high-level Sandinistas and three former presidental contenders, of “conspiracy to undermine national integrity.”

The Biden administration is considering trying to expel Nicaragua from a lucrative regional free trade pact to retaliate against President Daniel Ortega’s crackdown on his opponents.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has hosted his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro for talks in Moscow and hailed ties between the two countries, which he described as “friendship and mutual understanding.”.

Relatives in Nicaragua say that jailed former Sandinista guerrilla and opposition leader Hugo Torres has died at the age of 73

Relatives in Nicaragua say that jailed former Sandinista guerrilla and opposition leader Hugo Torres has died at the age of 73.

A judge in Nicaragua has sentenced former presidential hopeful and journalist Miguel Mora to 13 years in prison for “conspiracy to undermine national integrity.”

Russia has been threatening to expand military ties with allies Venezuela and Cuba amid rising tensions with the U.S. over Ukraine.

The presence of a senior Iranian official at the investiture of Nicaragua’s president has angered Argentina, which alleges the official was involved in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people.

The presence of a senior Iranian official at the investiture of Nicaragua’s president has angered Argentina, which alleges the official was involved in the 1994 bombing of a Jewish center in Buenos Aires that killed 85 people. Rezaei, a former leader of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, is wanted by Argentina on an Interpol “Red Notice” because of the attack.

Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega has been sworn in for a fourth consecutive term following elections considered rigged and on a day marked by sanctions from the United States and European Union against members of his government.

The Nicaraguan government has seized the former embassy and diplomatic offices of Taiwan, saying they belong to China. President Daniel Ortega’s government broke off relations with Taiwan this month, saying it would recognize only the mainland government. Before departing, Taiwanese diplomats attempted to donate the properties to the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Managua.

Nicaragua's decision to sever diplomatic links with Taiwan and recognize China leaves the self-governing island democracy with just 14 diplomatic allies.

Benjamín Villalta, a 39-year-old Nicaraguan, couldn’t believe that a Mexican immigration office would open in the middle of the night to give him and some 40 other migrants humanitarian visas that would allow them to move about Mexico and work.

The Nicaraguan government has dropped visa requirements for Cuban citizens, a move that may spark an increase in Cubans travelling there in a bid to reach the United States.

Nicaragua’s former ambassador to the Organization of American States has been detained by unidentified men outside his home, his wife said

Nicaragua’s government announced Friday that it will withdraw from the Organization of American States, a regional body that has accused President Daniel Ortega's government of acts of repression and rigging this month’s election. Nicaragua Foreign Minister Denis Moncada said in a news conference that he sent an “official communication” to OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro citing the body’s “repeated acts of meddling” in Nicaragua.

With the absence of traditional elections monitors, hundreds of civilian volunteers in Nicaragua went to voting centers to document what they saw on election day.

So far, the U.S., United Kingdom and the European Union have rejected the elections. But some countries have shown support or have not condemned them.

A mountain of discarded clothing including Christmas sweaters and ski boots cuts a strange sight in Chile's Atacama, the driest desert in the world, which is increasingly suffering from pollution created by fast fashion.

Many have decried the election as rigged after President Daniel Ortega arrested his strongest potential opponents before voting began.

Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega holds a commanding lead in preliminary results from Sunday’s election against a field of little known challengers.

A day after questioned elections, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s government has set about painting as a historic democratic victory what many of the world’s democracies condemned as a sham.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is running for a fourth consecutive term to remain leader of the Central American country in elections that critics and U.S. officials have labeled a "sham."

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is seeking a fourth consecutive term as voting begins in elections against a field of little-known candidates while those who could have given him a real challenge sit in jail.

The five bodies of water that make up the Great Lakes, which account for more than 20 percent of the world’s freshwater supply, have always risen and fallen over the decades. But climate change has now made the extremes much stronger than before, with residents installing hurricane shutters and signs of erosion becoming severe. Researcher Aaron Packman warns, "We're going to see increasing lakefront damage and we're going to see increasing inland flooding."

Daniel Ortega's expected reelection on Sunday will likely send Nicaragua into further isolation and economic turmoil.

Back in May, the chances of Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega’s reelection to a fourth consecutive term were looking good.

The campaign was "one of the most cross-governmental troll operations we've disrupted to date," Facebook said.

How Daniel Ortega tossed democracy aside to maintain power in Nicaragua; A new model of architecture with communities in mind; Yuval Noah Harari on the power of data, artificial intelligence and the future of the human race.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has had his political opponents beaten and thrown in jail and passed legislation making criticism of the government a form of treason. Sharyn Alfonsi reports on the loss of democracy in Nicaragua.

Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega has tightened his grip on power by making dozens of arrests of political opponents, journalists and protesters. Sunday, 60 Minutes speaks to the wives of two imprisoned men who were planning to oppose Ortega in next week's elections.

More than 2,000 mostly Central American migrants were walking along a highway in southern Mexico toward the town of Huixtla where security forces had deployed, possibly signaling that authorities would soon try to break up the group.

Writer and former Nicaraguan Vice President Sergio Ramírez says he will live in exile in Spain, after the government of President Daniel Ortega tried to arrest him and banned his latest book.

Nicaragua’s increasingly isolated President Daniel Ortega called Roman Catholic bishops “terrorists” Monday and said many countries would have arrested them. Ortega claims widespread protests that erupted in April 2018 were an attempted coup with foreign backing. Ortega appeared to be referring to a pro-democracy plan submitted by Nicaragua's council of bishops during those talks.

"The biggest fear is that I'm not gonna get a chance to see him again," "Riverdale" creator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa told CBS News.

The United States government has pulled its defense attache out of Nicaragua following comments complimentary of Nicaragua’s military that drew the ire of the political opposition. Last week, the Nicaraguan government published comments from Lt. Col. Roger Antonio Carvajal Santamaria during a Sept. 23 gathering of Nicaragua’s military leadership and military attaches from several countries. Carvajal said Nicaragua’s military is a “large part of the growth and stability of this country,” according to a statement published by Nicaragua’s defense ministry.

Panama’s President Laurentino Cortizo t to address the flood of migrants passing through his nation.

One-time Nicaragua presidential aspirant Cristiana Chamorro and one of her brothers were among five people formally charged with money laundering Thursday.

The United States has slapped visa restrictions on 50 immediate family members of Nicaraguan officials who have been involved in or benefited from President Daniel Ortega’s growing repression.

The European Union is slapping sanctions on Nicaraguan first lady and Vice-President Rosario Murillo and seven other senior officials accused of serious human rights violations or undermining democracy.

Nicaraguan police placed under house arrest a seventh presidential contender on Saturday, meaning that almost all of those who could have challenged President Daniel Ortega in the Nov. 7 elections have now been detained. Opposition leader Noel Vidaurre was placed under police custody at his home on Saturday, as was political commentator Jaime Arellano. Arellano had been called in for questioning regarding a commentary he wrote criticizing an Ortega speech.

The Nicaraguan government has organized rallies and festivities to mark the anniversary of the July 19, 1979, revolution that overthrew dictator Anastasio Somoza.

The Nicaraguan government organized rallies and festivities Monday to mark the anniversary of the July 19, 1979, revolution that overthrew dictator Anastasio Somoza. Several of the leading Sandinista revolutionaries who fought alongside Ortega in 1979 have now been jailed by him. Ortega, 75, is seeking a fourth consecutive term in Nov. 7 elections, and his six main potential rivals have been detained.

The U.S. State Department has announced that it is pulling the travel visas of 100 legislators, judges and prosecutors who aided the regime of President Daniel Ortega.

The U.S. State Department announced Monday it is revoking the travel visas of 100 legislators, judges and prosecutors who aided the regime of President Daniel Ortega. The department said the visa cancellations came in response to the arrests by Ortega’s Sandinista government of at least 26 members of the opposition and most potential candidates in the Nov. 7 elections. In June, Mexico and Argentina recalled their ambassadors to Nicaragua for consultations, and the Organization of American States passed a resolution condemning the recent arrests of key opposition figures.

Critics say Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega is turning into the type of authoritarian leader that he once helped to topple.

Critics say Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega is turning into the type of authoritarian leader that he once helped to topple.

The old Nicaraguan revolutionary, with his receding hairline and the goatee that he had finally let turn grey, spoke calmly into the camera as police swarmed toward his house, hidden behind a high wall in a leafy Managua neighborhood. Decades earlier, Hugo Torres had been a revered guerrilla in the fight against right-wing dictator Anastasio Somoza. Among those prisoners was Daniel Ortega, a Marxist bank robber who would become Nicaragua’s elected president and later its authoritarian ruler.

Nicaraguan police arrested a half dozen more opposition figures, including the sixth presidential hopeful to have been arrested in a crackdown that started last month.

Nicaraguan police arrested a half dozen more opposition figures, including the sixth presidential hopeful to have been arrested in a crackdown that started last month. Among those arrested Monday was Lesther Alemán, a former student leader who returned to Nicaragua after exile but stayed in safe houses. Two leaders of farmers' groups, Pedro Mena and Freddy Navas, were also arrested, and a third, Pablo Morales, was listed by opposition activists as having been detained.

Among those detained in the latest wave of arrests is presidential hopeful Medardo Mairena.

In El Salvador, most are not bothered by President Nayib Bukele’s dictatorial maneuvers -- sending armed troops into congress to coerce a vote, or ousting independent judges from the country’s highest court, paving the way to control all branches of government.

It was around 10:30 p.m. on a Sunday night when journalist Verónica Chávez heard a loud noise as she put her son to bed.

Nicaragua's arrests of opponents ahead of its November elections have spurred international condemnation and sanctions and may lead to tougher consequences.

Nicaragua's arrests of opponents ahead of its November elections have spurred international condemnation and sanctions and may lead to tougher consequences.

A wave of high-profile critics’ arrests has deepened the chill on criticism of Nicaraguan President Ortega before November elections.

International criticism of the Nicaraguan government has grown following another night of arrests in Managua.

Writer and former Nicaraguan Vice President Sergio Ramírez says that there is “zero possibility” of holding free elections in Nicaragua Nov. 7 and that opposition forces who participate would only be “legitimizing” President Daniel Ortega’s re-election.

Nicaraguan authorities have ordered the capture of a former education minister and a businessman as the government’s crackdown continued to expand beyond leaders of the political opposition.

Nicaraguan police have arrested yet another opposition leader, bringing to six the number detained over the weekend.

The government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has arrested five opposition leaders, following the detentions of four presidential contenders earlier this month.

The U.S. State Department has called on Nicaragua to free opposition figure Cristiana Chamorro, who is being held incommunicado at her home after her laptops and cellphones were taken away.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is trying to entice Central American nations to tackle the corruption and poverty that have helped drive a surge of migrants to the U.S.-Mexico border and presented an early challenge for the Biden administration.

FILE - In this Sept. 5, 2018 file photo, Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega and his wife and Vice President Rosario Murillo, lead a rally in Managua, Nicaragua. The Central American country has created a National Ministry for Extraterrestrial Space Affairs, The Moon and Other Celestial Bodies. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga, File)MANAGUA – Nicaragua has created a new National Ministry for Extraterrestrial Space Affairs, The Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, which is drawing amused reactions on social media in a nation that has been struggling since anti-government protests three years ago. The agency was approved by 76 legislators Wednesday in the country’s congress, which is dominated by President Daniel Ortega’s Sandinista Party. Critics said the country does not have the money to spare for dreams of space exploration.

A nurse shows to the press a vial of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19 during a vaccination campaign inside River Plate stadium in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)MANAGUA – Nicaragua’s government said Wednesday that it had approved Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use. “Nicaragua is advancing in its negotiations with Russia to supply” the vaccine, said the government outlet El 19 Digital. It was the first vaccine approved in Nicaragua, which still awaits its first doses. Argentina, Bolivia and Venezuela are among other left-leaning governments in the hemisphere that have approved the vaccine.

There is increasing concern for the safety of journalists covering protests at state capitals across the U.S., and in Washington. This week, now as a reporter in Oregon, I attended virtual training by the state police on what to do if there's a shooting rampage in the Oregon Capitol. The Legislature’s leadership, for the first time, included journalists in the training after several were assaulted by rioters outside the state Capitol in December. What has happened at the Oregon Capitol is a clear example of how those divisions have become sharper and more bitter. Until last year, protests at the marble-sheathed state Capitol had been relatively mild.

FILE - In this May 26, 2018 file photo, the Spanish word for "Murderer" covers a mural of Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega, as part of anti-government protests demanding his resignation in Managua, Nicaragua. (AP Photo/Esteban Felix, File)MANAGUA – Nicaragua’s ruling party-dominated Congress passed a law Monday that would essentially ban opposition candidates from running in the 2021 presidential elections. The elections are scheduled for Nov. 7, 2021, and despite term limits — which Ortega has already exceeded — the 75-year-old leader is expected to run again. Nicaragua’s two main opposition groups had announced earlier this year that they will form a coalition to compete in the 2021 race. The U.S. government says it is pressing Ortega to hold free and fair elections and respect basic rights.

Throughout Latin America, a traditionally Catholic region with a surging evangelical presence in nearly every country, evangelical churches have kept spreading the Gospel despite government measures meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus. In at least two countries, evangelical pastors have died in alarming numbers during the pandemic. Some have attended evangelical services in the city of Atalaia do Norte and then brought the virus to our lands," he said. In Nicaragua, evangelical churches large and small stayed open too at least at first. Back in Nicaragua, many evangelical churches have reopened, some with health precautions, like Bethel where congregants are asked to bring their own hand sanitizer.

MANAGUA Inside Nicaragua's public hospitals, the walls are plastered with political propaganda, ruling-party activists ensure no information leaks out, and doctors were once forbidden from wearing masks. The government did not respond to a request for comment on the doctors' dismissals and the allegations of repression. Doctors have confirmed the relatives' suspicions, saying hospital administrators order virus deaths be categorized otherwise to keep official numbers low. The result has been dozens of sickened medical workers and more than 70 deaths, according to a count kept by the Medical Associations of Nicaragua. He had been voluntarily treating COVID-19 patients who were turned away from hospitals in Len and Chinandega, in western Nicaragua.

Pastora, one of the most mercurial, charismatic figures of Central Americas revolutionary upheavals, has died. His son Alvaro Pastora said Tuesday, June 16, 2020 that he died at Managuas Military Hospital of respiratory failure. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo, File)MANAGUA One of the most mercurial, charismatic figures of Central America's revolutionary upheavals, Edn Pastora, died early Tuesday. Edn Atanacio Pastora Gmez was born Nov. 15, 1936, in Ciudad Daro, Nicaragua. After the protests, as rumors swirled about Ortegas health, Pastora told the press that he had recommended that the Sandinista National Liberation Front choose a successor.

During a May 16 game, manager Norman Cardoze Sr. and coach Carlos Aranda felt sick. Cardozes son Norman Jr., the teams star slugger, was so weak and achy he didnt play. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga)MANAGUA MANAGUA, NicaraguaA Nicaraguan Hall of Fame baseball manager was fired Tuesday, days after publicly speaking about being hospitalized with COVID-19 along with his son and coach. Norman Cardoze Sr., manager of the San Fernando Beasts, was not given a reason for his firing, but his wife Ftima Ruiz said the family suspects it was because they spoke out about being infected with the virus. Cardoze Sr. described the horror of watching people essentially suffocate before his eyes and seeing their bodies wrapped in plastic and removed.

A man watches a professional baseball game between Boer de Managua and Flecheros de Matagalpa at Dennis Martinez stadium in Managua, Nicaragua, Saturday, April 25, 2020. Then, during a May 16 game in the capital, Managua, manager Norman Cardoze Sr. and coach Carlos Aranda felt sick. Cardozes son Norman Jr., the teams star slugger, was so weak and achy he didnt play. The Cardoze father and son, who tested positive for the virus, spent a week in the hospital. Were like the circus clowns, while a ton of people without heart or conscience are risking the lives of the players and the fans, Carlos Aranda Sr. said.

The dispute boiled over after Costa Rica on May 8 began testing all truck drivers entering the country for COVID-19. It is Costa Rica (that has) with measures it began to take, to demand, to establish. He called the testing a pretext used by Costa Rican authorities. Costa Rica appears to have triggered Ortega's response by saying Friday that truckers bringing cargo to Costa Rica could leave it at the border and have Costa Rican drivers take it to the final destination. The Costa Rica Exporters Chamber said the government's actions Friday had a negative impact on more than 1,000 Costa Rica exporters. Ortega said he was willing to talk to his Costa Rican counterparts to find a solution, but it depends on Costa Rica.____ Cordoba reported from San Jose, Costa Rica.