The Ortega-Murillo regime’s alliances with Russia and China will take center stage in Washington on Friday, June 5, when Ana Rosa Quintana-Lovett, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central America at the U.S. Department of State, is expected to warn Congress that the United States will combine sanctions and diplomatic pressure to confront those relationships.
Quintana-Lovett will testify before the U.S. House of Representatives during a hearing titled “Confronting the Ortega-Murillo Totalitarian Regime.” Republican Representative María Elvira Salazar and Democratic Representative Joaquín Castro will participate in the session. The hearing is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. Central America time and will be available to the public via YouTube.
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According to a copy of the diplomat’s prepared remarks obtained by LA PRENSA, a key component of President Trump’s current foreign policy is a stance of “zero tolerance” toward governments viewed as anti-American and “rogue actors in the Western Hemisphere, including Nicaragua.” Within that framework, the Ortega regime is considered an ally of countries that Washington regards as adversaries, including Russia, China, and Iran.
«Malign Influences»
“The Trump Administration’s National Security Strategy makes clear that we will eliminate the malign influence of extra-hemispheric powers,” Quintana-Lovett’s prepared testimony states. “We remain focused on disrupting Russia’s malicious efforts to forge deeper military and security ties with Nicaragua, as well as the dictatorship’s submission to Chinese economic expansion.”
Quintana-Lovett, who serves in the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, has closely monitored developments in Nicaragua. Ortega restored diplomatic relations with Beijing in December 2021 as his government became increasingly isolated internationally amid widespread calls for accountability over human rights abuses committed since 2018.
As the human rights crisis deepened, however, the regime increasingly invoked the defense of “sovereignty” to resist international scrutiny. During his 19 years in power, Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo have strengthened ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin’s propaganda apparatus. More recently, the government expanded military cooperation with Russia in what Washington views as a direct challenge to U.S. national security interests.
Indeed, the U.S. State Department considers the regime a national security concern. On June 2, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Senate that Nicaragua and Cuba are not U.S. allies in Latin America. The administration has also held the Ortega-Murillo government responsible for the death of Indigenous leader Brooklyn Rivera, who had been imprisoned by the regime since 2023.
for Central America at the U.S. Department of State.
Beyond its relationship with Russia, Nicaragua’s government has unsuccessfully attempted to replace the United States with China as its principal trading partner. Laureano Ortega Murillo, son of the ruling couple, oversees relations with both countries as well as Iran. The regime has promoted Chinese retail investment and granted controversial mining concessions to little-known Asian companies operating in Nicaragua.
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«Robust Sanctions and Diplomatic Pressure»
“The dictators continue to deepen ties with malign actors such as Russia, China, Cuba, and Iran,” Quintana-Lovett’s testimony says. “These relationships sustain an extensive surveillance network staffed by Sandinista Party operatives in every neighborhood and ministry, enrich the dictatorship through investments, and threaten U.S. security by facilitating intelligence collection by our adversaries in Central America.”
She adds that “the United States remains steadfast in confronting these challenges through a combination of robust sanctions and diplomatic pressure.”
During her testimony, Quintana-Lovett is expected to highlight recent sanctions imposed on Maurice and Daniel Edmundo Ortega Murillo, sons of Ortega and Murillo.
Maurice Ortega Murillo oversees the regime’s sports sector, while Daniel Edmundo Ortega Murillo directs the government’s propaganda apparatus under his mother’s supervision. U.S. sanctions were also extended to Nicaragua’s gold mining sector, where the ruling family allegedly held economic interests, according to investigations by LA PRENSA.
The State Department official further argues that the regime’s cooperation with Russian and Chinese propagandists provides platforms for Chinese, Russian, and Cuban state media to amplify anti-American narratives.
“In Nicaragua, we will end the dictatorship’s facilitation of illegal migration to the United States, protect U.S. citizens and businesses operating in the country, disrupt and deter adversarial alliances, and bring an end to the dictatorship’s human rights violations and abuses,” she says.
Dynastic Rule «Sustained by Criminal Elements»
Quintana-Lovett describes Nicaragua since 2018 as “a family-run police state sustained by adversaries and corrupt criminal elements to preserve dynastic power.”
She also emphasizes that Ortega and Murillo illegally rewrote the constitution in 2025 to elevate Murillo to the newly created position of “co-president,” placing her on equal footing with Ortega while further dismantling institutional checks and balances and strengthening the regime’s repressive machinery.
“The dictators have silenced, exiled, and imprisoned under horrific conditions thousands of political opponents, including U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents,” the testimony states. “Arbitrary detentions continue, and authorities condition releases on constant police surveillance, harassment, and restrictions on movement.”
Quintana-Lovett also condemns religious persecution in Nicaragua, noting that more than 300 clergy members have been forced into exile and that 51 priests are currently stateless.
“Half of the country’s bishops now reside outside Nicaragua,” she says.
According to her assessment, following the capture of Nicolás Maduro by U.S. forces in January, the Ortega-Murillo regime has become increasingly isolated both domestically and internationally.
“The dictators must adapt to this new reality and allow Nicaragua to return to the community of prosperous and democratic nations allied with the United States,” she states. “Under Secretary Rubio’s leadership, the State Department is committed to pursuing bold solutions to protect U.S. national security and economic prosperity in Central America.”
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Regime Yields Under Pressure
As evidence that U.S. pressure has produced results, Quintana-Lovett points to the release of 80 political prisoners since November 2025, which she attributes in part to sustained public advocacy by the United States.
In February, the Ortega-Murillo government ended visa-free entry for citizens of 128 countries, including Cuba and Haiti, in response to U.S. concerns. Washington had imposed visa restrictions on Nicaraguan officials involved in facilitating illegal migration to the United States.
“We have made progress in limiting Managua’s role as a gateway to our southern border,” she is expected to tell lawmakers.
Another example, though not included in her prepared remarks, was the regime’s decision to return facilities it had seized in September 2025 from mining company BHMB Mining. On the same day that the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Maurice and Daniel Edmundo Ortega Murillo, it also imposed sanctions on Zhong Fu Development S.A. and Santa Rita Mining Company for their direct involvement in the expropriation of the U.S.- and British-backed mining firm.
(This version is edited for a professional English-language news audience, preserving the tone, structure, and attribution of the original article. Translated with the help of ChatGPT).
