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Nine out of 10 Nicaraguans questioned by the organization Hagamos Democracia say that they feel watched by the Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo regime, through a network of police, paramilitaries and political structures that act in coordination with Army Intelligence and the Ministry of the Interior.
The survey reveals the magnitude of social control that is already part of daily life in Nicaragua. Or, in the words of the Sandinista co-president himself, 92.25% of the population lives under “revolutionary surveillance.” Carried out independently by the organization that operates in exile, the study was published a month and a half after Ortega issued an order to “redouble revolutionary surveillance” to “capture and prosecute the traitors,” during the 46th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution.
“We have always to continue with our tasks: study, preparation, work in different activities… without neglecting revolutionary surveillance... leaving no room for terrorists, conspirators, traitors, because they will know that as soon as they are discovered, they will be captured and prosecuted,” Ortega said, claiming that the surveillance was in defense of peace.
The main operators behind the surveillance are the Sandinista Leadership Committees (CLS), identified by more than half of those consulted (52.56%). Next are the National Police (30.19%) and paramilitary groups (16.98%). To a lesser extent, workers from public institutions, the Volunteer Police (i.e., paramilitaries), political secretaries, and even co-workers get a mention.
“In the neighborhoods, the Sandinista Front has people in charge of passing information about what is happening in each house,” says Jesús Tefel, president of Hagamos Democracia whose nationality was annulled by the regime. “The National Police and the CLS work hand in hand: the CLS collects the information, transfers it to the Police and the Police are the ones who exercise repression – who ultimately take people away, imprison them, interrogate them, put them under house arrest... all measures to maintain this social control. They even plant patrol cars in front of houses simply as a means of intimidation.”
The Hagamos Democracia survey was carried out July 18 to 23, 2025, at which time the regime had launched a witch hunt in various regions. Thirty three people were arrested. Two of those detained have been handed over dead to their families in less than seven days.
The study reveals that Nicaraguans believe the apparatus of state control is sustained not only by the armed forces and police, but also by their neighbors and co-workers, generating constant surveillance and repression. Even officials and supporters of the government itself are terrified of the purge that co-president Rosario Murillo is carrying out against renowned Sandinistas, such as Commander Bayardo Arce, who are critical of her.
The survey states that this climate of permanent surveillance not only erodes the privacy and freedom of citizens but also contributes to the deterioration of public security. The distrust between neighbors, the normalization of turning people in as a tool of control and the constant presence of parapolice in local neighborhoods have generated a climate of fear that facilitates impunity and violence. Instead of protecting the population, the state apparatus has less capacity to address the real problems of common criminality.
A finely-tuned approach
During the first quarter of 2025, the Ortega-Murillo regime swore in a legion of 76,800 hooded paramilitaries, increasing neighborhood surveillance. Since the 2018 protests, the Sandinista administration has been perfecting its method of political surveillance, in coordination with the police, Army Intelligence and the Ministry of the Interior, managed by Luis Cañas.
Since August 2023, the Ortega and Murillo regime began to deploy a new model of surveillance in the neighborhoods, masquerading as “citizen and human security meetings” organized by the police. The dynamic turned what seemed like a community meeting into a mechanism of social control, reinforced by the massive presence of police officers.
The aim of these meetings was not to listen to the concerns of the neighborhood, but to establish a permanent point of contact between the police and the regime’s party structures. “That means that people feel under constant pressure,” Tefel tells EL PAÍS. “This contributes to the feeling of insecurity and the lack of freedom. There are already many rights that are not guaranteed in Nicaragua and not being able to complain or talk, not being able to express opinions openly for fear of being betrayed, exacerbates the feeling of repression in people.”
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