Panama City, Panama – President José Raúl Mulino of Panama has sharply criticized Nicaragua, describing it as a nation that disregards both domestic and international law. "We are facing a country that has neither God nor law," Mulino stated on Thursday, December 12, 2024.

The Panamanian government has taken steps to address the deteriorating situation in Nicaragua. Foreign Minister Javier Martínez Acha summoned the Nicaraguan ambassador to Panama, Consuelo Sandoval, to demand that the embassy be used solely for asylum purposes and not as a platform for political activities.

The United Nations Human Rights Office released a report in September 2024 highlighting the severe deterioration of human rights in Nicaragua. The report documented a surge in arbitrary arrests, intimidation of opponents, and violations of the rights of indigenous peoples. The Nicaraguan government has been accused of persecuting not only dissidents but also independent organizations, including media outlets, NGOs, and human rights defenders.

Under the leadership of President Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua has implemented a constitutional reform that concentrates power in the hands of the presidential couple, Ortega and his wife, Rosario Murillo. This move has been widely condemned by civil society organizations as a consolidation of authoritarian rule, eliminating freedom of expression and ensuring impunity for human rights abuses. The reform also enables statelessness, repeals the prohibition of torture, and militarizes state control.

The IDEA Group, an organization composed of former heads of state and government from Spain and the Americas, has urged Western democracies to resist normalizing what they consider a dictatorship. The group has warned of the country's historic regression and attacks on freedom of expression and religion.

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