Bayardo Arce, one of the key leaders of the original Sandinista revolution, detained early Thursday morning in Managua. He’s long been economic adviser to left-wing President Daniel Ortega. This arrest marks the deepest escalation in the internal purge of Nicaragua’s ruling elite. As international tensions flare, the ruling governing party finds itself under intense stress on its own side.
Arce, 76, has been a towering figure of Nicaraguan politics since the 1979 Sandinista revolution. That Sandinista revolution went on to successfully overthrow the long-time U.S.-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza. His deep loyalty to Ortega goes back to the days of the revolution. In a matter of weeks, recent developments have turned Arce’s predicament on its head. Law enforcement officials reportedly ransacked Arce’s home. This operation led to his arrest on charges of “illegal deals and discussions” concerning property and business ventures that are reportedly tied to state interests.
As a result of the offshore scandal, the Attorney General’s Office began a corruption investigation into Arce, who has experienced government-imposed house arrest earlier this year. His arrest comes just one day after the detention of his deputy aide, Ricardo Bonilla. She had already been accused of refusing to “render accounts.” This defiance is an unmistakable warning shot, not only at those near Arce, but potentially for more senior members of the Sandinista leadership.
Arce’s detention is part of a wider campaign directed by Vice President Rosario Murillo, Ortega’s wife and co-ruler. The main target of this campaign has already witnessed two other Sandinista veterans prominent in the 1979 revolution, placed under house arrest earlier this year. The arrests that continue to occur are sending a shockwave of terror through Nicaragua’s fragile political climate. Veteran revolutionaries who once took up arms with Ortega now risk being pushed to the margins or thrown into jail.
The implications of these arrests go far beyond individual cases. They are a measure of the increasing fractures inside the ruling party. As tensions escalate, there’s uncertainty among everyone except Nicaragua’s political aristocracy about what the future holds. Against this backdrop, the purges are upending the old power structures. They’re shaking up all sorts of long-standing relationships in and around the Sandinista movement.
