US to use OAS to isolate Nicaragua after constitutional changes

September 3, 2026 at 12:12 AM2 min

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US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on Wednesday that the United States will use the Organization of American States (OAS) to isolate Nicaragua over constitutional changes that ban most political opposition. The move follows Nicaraguan lawmakers' passage of reforms extending the presidential term and restricting opposition parties. Rubio said the US will urge OAS members to stop doing "business as usual" with Nicaragua.

Key Facts

Nicaraguan lawmakers passed a constitutional reform package on Tuesday that bans most opposition parties from elections and extends the presidential term from six to seven years.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the isolation strategy in a statement on Wednesday, accusing President Daniel Ortega and co-President Rosario Murillo of waging a "war on democracy".
The OAS decided last month to convene an emergency meeting over Nicaragua, declaring the situation "a problem of an urgent nature and of common interest to the American States".
Nicaragua completed its withdrawal from the OAS in 2023 after announcing the move in 2022, with its foreign minister calling the body a "monstrosity".

US Isolation Strategy

The United States will use an upcoming OAS meeting to urge countries in the hemisphere to stop doing "business as usual" with Nicaragua, Rubio said. Rubio's statement accused Ortega and Murillo of waging a "war on democracy" that "threatens our hemisphere's stability and prosperity". The announcement came after Nicaraguan lawmakers passed constitutional reforms that largely ban opposition parties from participating in elections.

Constitutional Reforms

The reform package extends the presidential term from six to seven years and dissolves political parties that received funding from abroad. Ortega said after the changes were proposed that "there won't be any more elections here for them to try to seize the government and seize power". The reforms had previously drawn criticism from the US and other countries in the region.

OAS Response

The OAS decided last month to convene a meeting over the situation in Nicaragua, declaring it "a problem of an urgent nature and of common interest to the American States". Nicaragua said it had withdrawn from the regional body in 2022, and the withdrawal fully went into effect in 2023. The Washington-based OAS was founded with US backing in 1948 to promote international cooperation in the Western Hemisphere.