Rosario Murillo

Rosario María Murillo Zambrana (Latin American Spanish: [roˈsaɾjo muˈɾiʝo]; born 22 June 1951) is a Nicaraguan politician and poet, who has been Co-president of Nicaragua alongside her husband, Daniel Ortega, since February 2025. Before this, she served as Vice-President of Nicaragua, the country's second-highest office; from 2017 to 2025; as First Lady of Nicaragua from 2007 to 2025; from 1985 to 1990, she had been the wife of President Ortega. Murillo has variously served as the Nicaraguan government's lead spokesperson, government minister, head of the Sandinista Association of Cultural Workers, and Communications Coordinator of the Council on Communication and Citizenry. She was sworn in as Vice-President of Nicaragua on 10 January 2017. She and her husband govern an authoritarian regime. The couple has eliminated political freedoms, repressed political opponents, and cemented powers in the hands of the executive. Since becoming Vice President in 2017, the ruling couple have increasingly purged and arrested long-standing loyalists of the regime to prevent a challenge to the ruling couple. In August 2021, she was personally sanctioned by the European Union over human rights violations.