es 
In the early morning of September 30, 2024, retired General Humberto Ortega Saavedra, brother of dictator Daniel Ortega, died in Managua after suffering a cardiorespiratory arrest.
The news of his death spread in networks not only because he was the president’s brother, but also because he was a political prisoner of the regime.
Humberto Ortega, who was one of the architects of the Sandinista Revolution, faced house arrest after an interview in which he made statements critical of the regime and proposed a “reunion” among all political forces in the country as the only way out of the crisis that Nicaragua has been experiencing since April 2018.
In that interview, Ortega highlighted the difficulty of maintaining the cohesion of the Sandinista Front without the figure of his brother Daniel, arguing that none of the family figures, including Rosario Murillo, was qualified to succeed him.
A delicate health condition
Humberto Ortega had been hospitalized since June 11 due to acute heart failure, hypotension and sepsis; complications that aggravated his condition in recent months.
His hospitalization occurred after he had been confined under house arrest since May 19, 2024, an imprisonment that many considered a political prison, given that he was not released along with the 135 political prisoners who were released and welcomed in Guatemala on September 5. However, Ortega remained in conditions of detention in his home, unable to communicate with the outside world.
Humberto Ortega’s health condition worsened at the end of September when he presented cardiogenic shock and an alteration in his state of consciousness.
The official communiqué indicated that, after cardiopulmonary resuscitation maneuvers, the retired general could not come out of cardiorespiratory arrest, declaring his death on September 30 at 2:30 am.
The children of the retired general confirmed his death through a statement in which they expressed their deep sorrow: “We, the children, Elizabeth, David, Amanda, Mariana, Oscar Humberto, and grandchildren communicate with deep sorrow the passing of our beloved father and grandfather, Humberto Ortega Saavedra”.
In the document they expressed their gratitude for the expressions of solidarity and asked for respect for the family’s privacy during this difficult time.
The crimes of Humberto Ortega
Humberto Ortega’s legacy is controversial. The brother of Nicaragua’s dictator was also responsible for a series of crimes and abuses committed during his time as military chief.
Under his command, the Sandinista Popular Army was accused of participating in violent repression against opponents and the massacre of civilians during the civil war in the 1980s. Testimonies from victims and human rights organizations documented extrajudicial executions and human rights violations, actions that indelibly marked his leadership.
One of the most emblematic and darkest cases of this period was the assassination of the young Belgian Jean Paul Genie in 1990. Jean Paul, a 25-year-old engineer, was killed by members of the army under the command of Humberto Ortega.
Despite multiple denunciations and demands for justice by the Genie family and international organizations, the case was covered up, and those responsible never faced trial. This murder became a symbol of the impunity surrounding military power in Nicaragua during the Sandinista era, and of Ortega’s inability to curb abuses committed by the forces under his control.
The official communiqué
Humberto Ortega’s comments about his brother’s regime strained already strained relations with the close circle of power. His devices were confiscated, his internet access was cut off and he was kept under strict military surveillance.
However, the army regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo issued a press release on the death of Humberto Ortega, recalling his “strategic contribution” during the Sandinista revolution and his role in the rescue of Comandante Carlos Fonseca Amador, there were no traditional military honors usually paid to figures of Humberto Ortega’s caliber.
Although any mention of his house arrest and incommunicado detention has been omitted, they acknowledged his militancy since adolescence and his participation in revolutionary military actions.
The official communiqué emphasized that Humberto Ortega will be remembered for his “lucid analysis” and his role in revolutionary history, indicating that his strategies will be material for the study of future generations.
However, the context of his death, after months of isolation and under the surveillance of his own brother’s regime, poses a grim contradiction between the public tribute and the political tensions that led to his confinement.
The arrest and subsequent death of Humberto Ortega has marked a final episode in a fractured relationship between the brothers, reflecting the deep internal divisions in the Sandinista Front and the tensions surrounding the future of power in Nicaragua.
Although many point to him as a political prisoner, his situation is not comparable to that of other Nicaraguans who suffer in the country’s prisons for not obeying orders or not sharing the regime’s views. This reality persists for a significant number of political prisoners who still face inhumane conditions in Nicaraguan jails.
What was said online about his death
ProBox explored the online conversation on mentions linked to the keywords “police state Nicaragua” and “citizen security congress Nicaragua”. Between September 9 and October 5, 128 mentions of the topic were recorded, with a peak of conversation on September 15 (35 mentions), coinciding with the signing of the Central American independence act, and another peak on September 30 (25 mentions), the day of Humberto Ortega’s death.
The conversation was mainly concentrated on Facebook, with 82.03% of the mentions (105), followed by X (14.06%, 18 mentions) and Instagram (3.91%, 5 mentions). The most mentioned words were “Humberto Ortega” (26), “Daniel Ortega” (23), “dictatorial succession” (22) and “question succession” (21), reflecting the debate around the death of the dictator’s brother and his status under surveillance.
There were multiple publications from media outlets such as Agencia EFE and Forbes Central America, which reported on the death of Humberto Ortega and his questioning of the regime.
In a second search, we delved into keywords such as “Humberto Ortega dies”, “Humberto Sandinista National Liberation Front” and “political prisoners Nicaragua”, obtaining a total of 677 mentions, with a peak on September 30.
This conversation was centered on X (59.82%, 405 mentions) and Facebook (38.26%, 259 mentions), highlighting terms such as “criticized power” (45 mentions) and “declared traitor” (44 mentions).
The hashtags #SOSNicaragua, #LibertadYa and #LibertadParaTodosLosPresosPolíticos also emerged, reflecting the narrative that Humberto Ortega was critical of his brother’s regime and that his death amplifies the voices clamoring for the release of political prisoners and the struggle against oppression in Nicaragua. It also highlights the traitor status with which he was declared after taking positions contrary to the Nicaraguan regime, which can be seen in media publications on both X and Facebook.
The figure of the traitor
The context of the online conversation highlights not only the anguish and polarization in Nicaraguan society, but also the struggle for historical memory of figures such as Humberto Ortega.
The death of Humberto Ortega has sparked widespread debate on social media about the state of Daniel Ortega’s regime, the future of the Sandinista leadership and the continued repression of dissident voices. The polarization of discourse and the use of hashtags such as #SOSNicaragua reflect a struggle for truth in a context of increasing authoritarianism.
While some used the hashtag #SOSNicaragua to talk about the news of the death of Daniel Ortega’s brother, other users used it in the same context calling him a criminal and criticizing the Nicaraguan regime.
Although in his later years Humberto Ortega became a critic of his brother’s government, this transformation does not erase the fact that for a long time he was responsible for crimes and abuses in the darkest years of Nicaraguan history. What it does show is that being the dictator’s brother or being in the regime’s close circles does not guarantee security in the face of the contradictions that still persist in Nicaragua.
