The dictatorial couple made up of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo have placed their children in positions of importance and trust in the regime they have imposed in Nicaragua. Camila, Laureano, Juan Carlos, Daniel Edmundo, Maurice and Luciana are seen at state events, meetings and international conferences; and as members of Nicaraguan delegations outside the country.
The nepotism in the Ortega dictatorship was evident since his return to power in 2007, the first step was to place his wife as spokesperson in the position of coordinator of the Communication and Citizenship Council, a department invented to attribute powers to Rosario Murillo, as control of information and management of the advertising cake.
Very little is known about this Communication and Citizenship Council. Who is part of it is unknown. The only visible face is Rosario Murillo herself, who has imposed an iron hand on the content that is disseminated through her propaganda machinery.
It was not until April 26 that Daniel Edmundo, the same director of channel 4, appeared as “media coordinator of the Communication and Citizenship Council.”
This son of the presidential couple, who until then had managed a very low profile, appeared in a virtual forum with the Russian state media Sputnik and Russian Today. Following the same script as his mother, Ortega’s son ranted against the independent media and accused them of being “mercenaries and money launderers.” He also expressed “solidarity” with the propaganda media of Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
By imposing secrecy on State institutions and ministries, the regime began to monopolize television and radio media under the assumption of “uncontaminated communication”; and started buying media for their children. Camila and Maurice run Channel 13; Juan Carlos, Channel 8; and Juan Carlos himself also appears as the owner of an advertising company that produces the entire graphic line of the State. Maurice Facundo is also director of the presidential portal El 19 Digital, Carlos Enrique (Tino) is the legal representative of Channel 4.
presidential advisers
All of Ortega’s children have been part of international delegations as presidential advisers, including Rafael Ortega Murillo who served as “acting foreign minister” at the Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) in January 2016.
Related news: Clear nepotism: Ortega sends Laureano and Rafael Ortega to Russia as diplomats
Camila Ortega is her mother’s personal assistant, she is the director of Nicaragua Diseña, an annual fashion event for which it is unknown how much money it costs the population. She is also director of the Creative Economy Commission, a position created exclusively for her; and she also appears as the “boss” in the Institute of Tourism (Intur).
Laureano is an advisor for investment, trade and international cooperation issues at PRONicaragua, the state agency for attracting investment to the country. He also heads diplomatic missions in forums in the Middle East, Africa, Cuba and in Europe, until it was sanctioned by the European Union (EU).
In addition, he is a delegate in economic relations with Russia and is in charge of reestablishing diplomatic relations with China, he even represented Nicaragua in the signing of the document that re-established cooperation ties with the communist government.
Rafael Ortega Murillo is an adviser to his stepfather, the dictator Daniel Ortega, and has also joined Nicaraguan delegations as minister, accompanying Ortega and his mother, Rosario Murillo. He also manages the family businesses related to oil, from the Nicaraguan Petroleum Distributor (DNP) and is a delegate for economic relations with Venezuela.
