In La Prensa, February 25, 2026
The opposition organization the Democratic Renovating Union presented a decalogue of demands to the regime to open “the path to the freedom of Nicaraguans.”
After nearly eight years of the social and political crisis unleashed by the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, members of the Democratic Renovating Union (UNAMOS) proposed the possibility of returning to Nicaragua after the capture of the dictator Nicolás Maduro by the government of Donald Trump, and only if the regime applied a decalogue in which the organization established demands which they consider fundamental for opening “the path to the freedom of Nicaraguans.”
“We are facing an opportunity where the dictatorship is more fragile and weakened…It is very important to strengthen our struggle for a free Nicaragua and to work in unity,” stated Luis Blandón, the president of UNAMOS.
The decalogue proposes demands such as full, unconditional and immediate freedom of all the political prisoners, the reestablishment of the freedom of the press, expression, organization and mobilization, the return of assets, civil and legal rights, to those who were stripped of these rights by decisions of the State during the repression of the regime.
It also includes the “repeal of repressive laws”, the “depuration of the judicial system” and the “immediate access of national and international human rights organizations to the country”, among others. The fulfillment of these demands, according to the party, would clear the way for the safe return of those in exile and the restitution of rights to citizens affected by the political persecution.
For Blandón, “these ten points are indispensable citizen guarantees to advance toward a transition” which would allow returning to the country under safe conditions. “We see this moment as key because there is a lot of pressure from the United States and the international environment does not favor the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship,” he stated, highlighting that many of these demands had already been part of the first national dialogue with the regime and they should now “return to the public debate.”
In this strategy of public and international positioning the former president of UNAMOS, Suyen Barahona, stated that the organization is open to dialogue in terms of this decalogue, and that she thinks that they should be turned into a common demand of the opposition and the citizenry in general.
“We are open to speaking to all people, sectors and groups who aspire to a free, just and democratic Nicaragua. We are also communicating these requirements to embassies and international organizations with whom we maintain contact,” said Barahona, who stated the importance of a “discourse agreed upon with Nicaraguan society around these minimal essential conditions and the joint pressure that we should apply to obtain them” and for that purpose, she stated, “we have held meetings with most of the opposition political groups. We are part of the Blue and White National Unity and we maintain communication with different spaces.”
The call from Fley
The idea of returning to the country was originally promoted by figures like Luis Fley, the president of the Nicaraguan Democratic Force and former guerrilla leader of the Nicaraguan Resistance that fought the first Sandinista dictatorship in the decade of the 80s.
Fley has been in exile in the United States since 2021, after the repressive escalation which imprisoned several presidential candidates for the elections of that cycle. In that context, the former commander said that he was willing to return to Nicaragua, but only under strict conditions of security and legal guarantees.
In a letter sent on February 12 to the Nicaraguan Embassy in Washington, Fley expressed his “decision to return to Nicaragua” and demanded “full guarantees of the Nicaraguan State”, calling for respect for the freedom of expression and mobilization, as well as the “restitution of confiscated assets, in accordance with the principles of legality, justice and reparation.”
The former presidential candidate added that the regional political moment – with the changes in Venezuela, diplomatic pressures on Cuba, and international movements toward democratic processes – create a window of opportunity which should be taken advantage of. “This is the right time…we should raise our voices and demand the right to live in our country,” he added.
The Sandinista dissident and former president of UNAMOS, Ana Margarita Vigil, agrees with this. According to her, the experience of these recent years shows that “the dictatorship can yield in the face of the pressure, be it internal, external or both,” which is why she insisted that it is key to maintain and coordinate that pressure.
“It could appear to be an extensive list because there are ten points, but all are political decisions. It would not make sense to return to the country if within a week they arrest us again,” she pointed out, insisting in the fact that the first step must be to publicly declare safe return, the repeal of illegal trials, and the return of citizenship.
Fley also has openly recognized the fear of return without clear conditions. In later statements to La Prensa, he stated that he and his group “are afraid of being killed” and thought that “the dictatorship does not live up to their agreements.”
