Sandinista commander Bayardo Arce, economic adviser to President Daniel Ortega, was jailed on Thursday after the government announced it was investigating him for corruption, according to Nicaraguan media in exile.
Arce, 76, fell from grace during an internal purge within the circles of power. According to Nicaraguan opposition figures in exile, this purge is being led by Rosario Murillo, the powerful co-president and wife of Ortega, with his approval.
The Sandinista commander was arrested at dawn after “dozens of police officers forcibly entered” his residence in Managua, reported the digital newspaper Confidencial.
The outlet Divergentes, citing “police sources and people close” to Arce, added that he was detained after the raid on his home, where he had been under house arrest since Sunday.
The Attorney General’s Office (PGR), controlled by the government, accused him on Thursday of “illegal property transactions and negotiations.” The PGR said it had launched “investigations into properties and companies linked to state interests,” without providing details.
According to the agency, Arce refused to explain or present documents regarding the property transactions. Ricardo Bonilla, the commander’s assistant, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly refusing to “give an account” of the matter.
Arce is the third member of the old guard of the former guerrilla Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN, in power) to be placed under house arrest. Henry Ruiz has been under house arrest since last March, and Humberto Ortega, former army chief and brother of the president, was also under house arrest when he died in September 2024.
Arce and Ortega were comrades in the armed struggle against dictator Anastasio Somoza, who was overthrown in 1979 with the triumph of the Sandinista revolution.
Ortega, 79, has remained in power since 2007 following re-elections widely questioned by the international community.
In recent months, he has been seen at public events having difficulty walking and looking pale—he suffers from lupus and kidney failure—leading opposition analysts to claim that Murillo is paving the way for succession.
