OAS Declares Democracy Dead in Nicaragua, Summons Foreign Ministers

The OAS Permanent Council voted 29-1 on August 19, 2026, to declare that representative democracy "no longer exists" in Nicaragua, citing reforms by co-presidents Ortega and Murillo that ban opposition candidates and dissolve foreign-funded parties. The OAS called an urgent foreign ministers' meeting. But Nicaragua left the body in 2023, stripping the organization of binding leverage.