Moisés Martínez Mayorga, investigative journalist at the Confidencial newspaper in Nicaragua: “The sanctions have hit the money appropriated by the Ortega-Murillo family, primarily from public funds and profits from the oil agreement Nicaragua had with Venezuela between 2007 and 2016. The Ortegas are concerned that U.S. sanctions will escalate to levels such as those imposed on Venezuela and Cuba, and that they will collapse the country’s economy. However, in the short term, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s main concern is to guarantee a smooth transition of power to his wife and children. That is the true motivation behind Laureano Ortega’s recent rapprochement with the United States, which, from my point of view, did not materialize due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Ortega regime did not want to inconvenience Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom they consider an important ally. I don’t think there is, at least for the moment, any back channel with the United States…”