The Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Post Office (Telcor) is the state entity that regulates the operation and transmission licenses of radio and television media in Nicaragua. Telcor is the censorship arm of the Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo regime against the independent press.
Since Ortega came to power in 2007, he has ordered the closure of the media, mainly local radio stations and channels in various departments of the country. In addition, he has granted the operation and frequency permits to his children and relatives at his pleasure and whim, thus forging a communication emporium.
As of 2018, it has executed the closure of the media more quickly and removed international media from the cable grid, which informed audiences about the situation of violation of human rights in Nicaragua.
This March 1, when National Journalist Day is commemorated, Telcor sent its “congratulations” to Nicaraguan journalists, in a show of cynicism in the face of the brutal attack against the media and press freedom.
“TELCOR congratulates all the Nicaraguan journalists in their day, who with their professionalism, responsibility and the use of Information and Communication technologies, bring knowledge to all our people,” the regulatory body wrote on its Twitter account.
Related news: Telcor “turns off” Radio San Carlos in Río San Juan
On January 10, 2022, as Ortega prepared to be sworn in for a new term in the presidential chair, the United States and the European Union designated sanctions against the “executioner” of the independent media.
Both countries affirm that Telcor has been used by the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo to “silence independent media” as a result of the sociopolitical crisis of 2018 and for this reason he was sanctioned. In addition, they mention that he has directed and carried out “surveillance” activities against civil society and the democratic opposition.
The EU and the US agreed that Telcor was used by the Nicaraguan dictatorship during the electoral campaign for the general vote on November 7, 2021. The European block assures that Telcor “launched several large-scale disinformation campaigns” prior to the general elections where Ortega and Murillo secured five more years in the Presidency.
Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo turned their children into media entrepreneurs. His children Juan Carlos, Camila, Luciana, Laureano, Daniel Edmundo and Rafael are owners of a conglomerate of radio and television stations and web pages that includes channels 4, 8, 13, 22 and the state channel 6; in addition to a radio chain and the official 19 Digital.
