2020 in Nicaragua

List of events

The following lists events in the year 2020 in Nicaragua.

Incumbents

• President: Daniel Ortega
• Vice President: Rosario Murillo

Events

• 17 March – Vice President Rosario Murillo announced that Cuba was going to send doctors and pharmaceuticals to Nicaragua to help deal with COVID-19, despite there being no confirmed cases in the country at the time. Murillo also claimed that medical supplies were sent by Venezuela as well.^[1]
• 18 March – The first confirmed case of COVID-19 in the country is announced: a 40-year-old man who recently returned to Nicaragua from its neighboring country of Panama.^[2]
• 23 August – Bishop Silvio Báez, who has been outside of Nicaragua for reasons of security since April 23, 2019, accuses President Ortega of being a dictator. The Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos (Nicaraguan Human Rights Center, Cenidh) says that the Catholic Church has been the victim of 24 attacks since April 2018.^[3]
• 9 September – The Pittsburgh Pirates take #21 out of retirement for a game against the Chicago White Sox at PNC Park. 9 September is celebrated by Major League Baseball (MLB) as "Roberto Clemente Day". Clemente, a Puerto Rico native, died in a plane crash in December 1972 while en route to Nicaragua to deliver disaster relief to victims of an earthquake.^[4]
• 14 September – Battle of San Jacinto, national holiday^[5][6] Students and authorities receive the independence torch from their Honduran counterparts at the border post Las Manos, Nueva Segovia Department.^[7]
• 15 September – Independence Day (from Spain, 1821), national holiday^[5] President Ortega proposes life sentences for political dissidents who commit "hate crimes."^[8]
• 16 November – Hurricane Iota: Category 5 hurricane made landfall in Honduras and Nicaragua.^[9]
• 10 December – The Centro Nicaragüense de Derechos Humanos (Cenidh) accuses President Ortega of "passing the limits" on human rights violations, citing 325 deaths during protests since 2018.^[10]
• 16 December – The United States says it will continue to exert pressure on Nicaragua to ensure that the 2021 Nicaraguan general election is free and fair.^[11]
• 21 December – The Congress passes a law banning terrorists, coup-mongers, and “traitors to the homeland” from running in the 2021 elections.^[12]

Scheduled events

• December 8 – Feast of the Immaculate Conception, national holiday^[5]
• December 25 – Christmas Day, national holiday^[5]

Deaths

• January 5 – David Albin Zywiec Sidor, American-Nicaraguan Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Siuna (b. 1947)^[13]
• February 20 – José Benito López Méndez, leader of an opposition political party.^[14]
• March 1 – Ernesto Cardenal, poet and priest (b. 1925).^[15]
• May 19 – Carlos Jirón, politician and member of the National Assembly (b. 1955).^[16]
• May 25 – Otto de la Rocha, singer, songwriter and actor (b. 1933).^[17]
• June 16 – Edén Pastora ("Commander Zero"), politician and revolutionary leader (b. 1936).^[18]
• June 23 – César Bosco Vivas Robelo, Roman Catholic prelate and former Bishop of León (b. 1941).^[19]

See also

• 2020 in Central America
• COVID-19 pandemic in Nicaragua
• List of years in Nicaragua

References

1. "Cuba to send doctors and pharmaceuticals to Nicaragua to face coronavirus". OnCubaNews English. 2020-03-17. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
2. "Nicaragua registers first case of coronavirus infection". Reuters. 2020-03-19. Retrieved 2020-06-19.
3. "Nicaragua: el obispo Silvio Báez llamó "dictadura" al régimen de Daniel Ortega y lo acusó de atacar a la Iglesia Católica". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved August 25, 2020.
4. Acevedo, Nicole. "MLB's Pirates will honor Roberto Clemente by wearing his number". NBC News. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
5. "National Holidays in Nicaragua in 2019". Office Holidays. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
6. "Battle of San Jacinto around the world in 2020". Office Holidays. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
7. "Antorcha de la independencia en territorio de Nicaragua - LVDS". La Voz del Sandinismo (in Spanish). 10 September 2020. Retrieved Sep 15, 2020.
8. "Nicaragua's Ortega threatens life sentences for opponents". news.yahoo.com. AP. September 15, 2020. Retrieved Sep 16, 2020.
9. Prociv, Kathryn (November 16, 2020). "Hurricane Iota nears landfall in Central America as Category 5, humanitarian crisis looms". NBC News. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
10. ""Ortega rebasó los límites" de violaciones de DD.HH. en Nicaragua, afirma ONG". es-us.noticias.yahoo.com (in Spanish). Yahoo News. EFE. December 10, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
11. "Estados Unidos advirtió que mantendrá la presión sobre el régimen de Daniel Ortega hasta que se hagan "profundas reformas" para celebrar elecciones libres en Nicaragua". infobae (in European Spanish). Infobae. December 16, 2020. Retrieved December 16, 2020.
12. "Nicaragua essentially bans opposition from 2021 elections". AP NEWS. AP. 21 December 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2020.
13. The Bishop of Siuna, David Albin Zywiec, dies (in Spanish) Confidencial, Retrieved Feb 9, 2020
14. Kidnap and execute with six shots a politician opposed to President Daniel Ortega (in Spanish) El Mundo (Spain), 20 Feb 2020
15. Ernesto Cardenal, Nicaraguan poet and priest died (in Spanish) La Jornada, 1 March 2020
16. Nicaraguan Legislator Dies of Covid-19
17. Fallece el cantautor nicaragüense Otto de la Rocha (in Spanish)
18. "Edén Pastora, Nicaraguan revolutionary, dead at 83". news.yahoo.com. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
19. Fallece monseñor Bosco Vivas, obispo emérito de León (in Spanish)