Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega permanently ruled out holding future presidential elections during a national address in Managua on Friday, marking the 47th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution.
Speaking to supporters, the 80-year-old leader focused on opposition figures in exile, accusing them of seeking power for personal gain.
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"They would love to win elections just to make money off the schools," Ortega said.
He instructed the government-controlled National Assembly to draft legislation creating legal barriers against political opponents, whom he labeled as coup plotters.
"They can forget about it, there will be no more elections held here for them to try and grab the government, to grab power," Ortega stated.
Ortega also criticized the United States over its January military operation in Caracas that led to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
"What did they do with all their power?
They went and raided the Presidential House where Nicolás was with his wife and killed his bodyguards, mostly Cubans, and took him to a prison in the United States.
That is a monstrosity," he said.
He also targeted Cuban dissidents who advocate for international intervention in Cuba.
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Human rights groups monitoring Nicaragua from abroad quickly condemned the announcement. The Costa Rica-based collective Nicaragua Nunca Más said the move confirms the end of democratic processes.
"The Sandinista Front has practically become a single party, with no real opposition inside Nicaragua," said Salvador Marenco, coordinator of Nicaragua Nunca Más.
