Ceremony of Presentation of the Medal of Reconciliation and Peace "Cardinal Miguel”
February 9th 2026
Address by Dr. Gustavo Porras
President of the National Assembly
Good afternoon on this February 9th when we celebrate one more Anniversary of the Transition to Immortality of Colonel Santos López, a vital link between the Army in Defense of National Sovereignty and the Sandinista National Liberation Front; a vital link between Sandino and Daniel.
Good afternoon, beloved Comandante Daniel, Co-President of the Republic; Compañera Rosario Murillo, Co-President of the Republic.
Our greetings to Señor Jaime Morales Carazo, former Vice President of the Republic, and Señora Amparo Vásquez de Morales, his wife, companion and friend.
Good afternoon, Compañera Arling Alonso, Vice President of the National Assembly; Compañera Darling Hernández, Compañeros and Compañeras, Youth, Young People. Good afternoon, to all the young people of Nicaragua.
We have gathered to pay tribute to the Spirit of Reconciliation and Peace, so firmly promoted by our Government of Reconciliation and National Unity and our Sandinista National Liberation Front, under the guidance and guidance of our Leaders, Daniel and Rosario.
We united and reconciled around the interests and aspirations of Nicaraguan families. All our actions, every one of our actions, must be subordinated to the Joy, Well-being and Happiness of the People of Nicaragua; Men, Women, Boys, Girls, the Present, Future and Eternity of our Nation and our Revolution.
Reconciliation is about the interests and the satisfaction of the needs of Nicaraguan Families; our Reconciliation is to guarantee Peace. Peace with Joy. Peace with Dignity. Peace with Security, the Security to be able to ensure Peace. Peace with Social Justice, and Social Justice to ensure Peace.
All of these are necessary elements to achieve the goal of everyone: To defeat Poverty!
Beloved Brothers and Sisters, we have received from the Presidency of the Republic, from Comandante Daniel Ortega, Co-President of the Republic and Compañera Rosario Murillo, Co-President of the Republic, the decision to award Don Jaime Morales Carazo, former Vice President of the Republic, the Rubén Darío Order of Cultural Independence and the Reconciliation and Peace Medal “Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo”, recognizing his merits as an example of the Culture of Reconciliation and Peace of the Nicaraguan People and State.
Also, to award Doña Amparo Vásquez de Morales, on behalf of the People as President, together with Don Jaime, the Reconciliation and Peace Medal “Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo”, as a sign of the Union for the Joy, Brother and Sisterhood and Well-being of all Nicaragua’s Families, especially Women of all ages, Mothers and Heads of Household, who share with her Strength and Spirituality, which are the guarantees of Life and Hope.
Long live Peace!
Long live Daniel!
Long live Rosario!
Thank you, Brothers and Sisters. A warm embrace.
We will proceed to read the Presidential Agreement No. 24-2026
"The Co-Presidency of the Republic of Nicaragua, Co-President Daniel Ortega and Co-President Rosario Murillo,
CONSIDERING :
That Don Jaime Morales Carazo is an Eminent Citizen who represents the Culture of Reconciliation and Peace that should characterize us, and in these Days of Commemoration of the Prince of Castilian Letters, Rubén Darío, and of Celebration of the Centenary of Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo, Pastor of Reconciliation and Peace;
It is decided to award Don Jaime Morales Carazo, former Vice President of the Republic, recognizing his Merits as a Magnificent Example of the Culture of Reconciliation and Peace of the Nicaraguan People and State, the Order of Cultural Independence Rubén Darío and the Medal of Reconciliation and Peace “Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo”;
Therefore, in use of the powers conferred by the Political Constitution,
IT IS AGREED :
Article 1: To award the Order of Cultural Independence Rubén Darío and the Medal of Reconciliation and Peace "Cardenal Miguel Obando y Bravo", to Don Jaime Morales Carazo, former Vice President of the Republic, recognizing his Merits as a Magnificent Example of the Culture of Reconciliation and Peace of the Nicaraguan People and State.
Article 2: This Agreement takes effect as of this date. Be it published in the Gazette, Official Journal.
Given in the City of Managua, Republic of Nicaragua, on February 9th 2026, 100 Years since the Birth of Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo, and 110 Years since the Transition to Immortality of the Great Rubén Darío.
Daniel Ortega Saavedra,
Co-President of the Republic of Nicaragua
Rosario Murillo Zambrana,
Co-President of the Republic of Nicaragua”"
We will read out Presidential Agreement No. 25-2026.
"The Co-Presidency of the Republic of Nicaragua, Co-President Daniel Ortega and Co-President Rosario Murillo,
CONSIDERING :
That Doña Amparo Vásquez de Morales has been a faithful and noble Companion of former Vice-President Jaime Morales Carazo, in all the circumstances and moments of his life, sharing the Paths of Reconciliation and Peace that have characterized him;
That Doña Amparo Vásquez de Morales has distinguished herself by her character and strength in the face of difficult times and always to take the Paths of Coexistence, making our Culture of Peace, Reconciliation and the Common Good a reality;
Therefore, in use of the powers conferred by the Political Constitution,
It is Agreed, on behalf of the People as President :
Article 1: To grant her, together with Don Jaime, the First Reconciliation and Peace Medal “Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo”, as a sign of the Union for the Joy, Brotherhood and Well-being of all Nicaragua’s Families, especially Women of all ages, and Mothers and Heads of Household, who share with her Strength and Spirituality, guarantees of Life and Hope.
Article 2: This Agreement takes effect as of this date. Be it published in the Gazette, Official Journal.
Given in the City of Managua, Government House, Republic of Nicaragua, on February 9th 2026.
Daniel Ortega Saavedra
Co-President of the Republic of Nicaragua
Rosario Murillo Zambrana
Co-President of the Republic of Nicaragua”
Address by Don Jaime Morales Carazo on presentation
of the Medal of Reconciliation and Peace "Cardinal Miguel”
I would like to greet with true affection and appreciation, two most beloved friends, who have always honored us with their Affection and Trust. Amparo who came from Mexico, and who says that he was born in Mexico but was reborn in Nicaragua.
There is a very nice saying of Father Ángel Martínez, a great Nicaraguan poet, and Amparo lives repeating it for a long time now, because that's how Nicaraguan she feels, since he came here.
I would like to express in public our respect and fraternal affection for our very dear friends, President Ortega and Rosario, two great Leaders of Central America, who have constantly contributed all their efforts for the improvement of our People.
We owe them Peace, which has been one of the Comandante’s fundamental objectives, and in which in many ways I contributed, helping him when I was chief negotiator over the war, between the Contra and the Frente. An unfortunate war.
Unfortunately, we did not negotiate, we did not talk, but by talking and negotiating, these things are avoided, but we learned a lot of lessons, to never repeat them again when we are able to fix them.
In this very difficult and painful process, Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo played a fundamental role with his Prudence, with his Patience.
I remember that when tempers flared up, as happens in all negotiations, he would say, guys, don't you think it's getting too hot, even when it was getting extremely cold up in the mountains, and that we should go out and have a little refreshment, and with that our tempers would cool down and we would continue negotiating.
He was a great Teacher of complete confidence for everyone. I remember that once we visited him together with the Comandante, we spoke several times with him, and he was always clear, always affectionate, always friendly to the Comandante, to Rosario, and all those who were collaborating directly at that time.
I want, precisely today, to remember that we should never forget him, because he was a peace negotiator, of many other problems. I remember among some of them, when the National Palace was taken, by that crazy man, and I say crazy because he is my great friend, may he rest in Peace, Edén Pastora. the Cardinal maintained Peace and Tranquility and even accompanied him to the airport to leave for Mexico; one of many instances.
Also, he always with great prudence handled discussions that sometimes flared up, in their own terms, and in those meetings there was always a group of over 200 Journalists from all over the world. Because to be up close and see what had happened in a war between Nicaraguans, you don't see that mediation between Nicaraguans, in any country, you don't see that every day.
That was a great lesson so that the conflict would never happen again, and that the way of Dialogue is always the way of Peace and Understanding, between Peoples and between people.
That is a great example that I acknowledge and I always repeat, the Cardinal was a great vehicle for Peace and Reconciliation.
Once I had the opportunity to visit him with the Comandante, and we were talking about how those episodes of fratricidal war should never be repeated or occur, because by talking and talking we can understand each other.
I don't want to bore you by telling you many anecdotes about what happened at those meetings, except one that I remember, when it was insisted on by a great newspaper, the New York Times, one of the most important in the world, they asked me and pressed me to say something; so then, what I came up with was a phrase from Cantinflas, or cantinflesca, telling them: Neither Agreement, Nor Disagreement, and that was the end of the meeting.
So, many thanks to all of you for your presence, especially to my beloved Comandante, who always showed me his affection and his trust. That affection of always, for a lifetime.
So, he knows, and I want everyone to know, the President's always fraternal treatment towards me; that's it then, thank you always.
Words of Daniel
It is 6.15pm and today, in Tribute to His Eminence Cardinal Miguel Obando and the Literary Genius Rubén Darío, we are in the Month of Rubén, of the Cardinal, what better tribute than to grant the Rubén Darío Order and the Order of Cardinal Miguel to a Nicaraguan who has stood out for being someone who has promoter development, its promoter in all fields, in the economic field, in the field of Education, in the field of Literature, and in the field of Peace.
And we have awarded him the Rubén Darío Order and the Order of Cardinal Miguel, as he already recalled, how we met, and how many times we met, until in the end it was possible to put an end to the war. And Amparo, his wife, who always accompanied him.
Today I'm going to read some facts about Don Jaime: Writer, Businessman, Politician, a very committed character. He was a director of the Nicaraguan Red Cross, of the Superior Council of Private Enterprise; he also promoted investments, development, via INDESA.
He was a co-founder of the UCA, and his specialty is Economics and the Faculty of Economic and Administrative Sciences, as well as the Central American Institute of Business Administration, INCAE, and the National Technological Institute, (INTECNA) in Granada.
Then too, he was a columnist in the La Prensa newspaper, from 1968 to 1978, 10 years.
The poet Pablo Antonio Cuadra, widely known, who now rests in another Plane of Life, he read the writings of Don Jaime and reviewed Don Jaime's books.
And Pablo Antonio said, Pablo Antonio wrote:
“(...) as I expected, a pen with a great capacity for synthesis and with an ample gift and a very clear tongue – with none of the typical pedantry of the professional or the specialist- (...) the person behind the desk was a humanist (...) with the vision of the one who gives the first taste of Humanity and its fundamental Values (...) I realized that it was not an intellectual attitude, or academic, but that it came from him, from Don Jaime.
“In the order of writing and public appearances:
‘The Mayor's Donkey and Other Stories’, in its first edition. later ‘The Fish and the Snake’ then came another edition and another edition. The book contains 14 short stories and short stories of a traditional nature. The stories are told in fluent and simple language, with Nicaraguan twists. Highlights are a good humor, of satire and popular wit. Among the stories, in addition to the one that gives the title to the collection, are: ‘The procession of Jesus del Yanke’, ‘The incredible story of how cocaine rained on a farm of the maistros’, ‘The little white powder of the nacatamales’ and ‘The old woman of the cats’. ‘Better than Somoza anything’ "
As you can see, all this despite being a man who worked at his specialty in the economic field, in the promotion of Banks and also of Training Centers for preparing young people.
In the midst of that situation that we lived through, the second war came. Because there was a first war that culminated in 1979, but then came the other war, which lasted from 1979 until... When were the Agreements, Don Jaime?
Words of Don Jaime Morales Carazo
I have forgotten them now, because I don't want to remember things that are sad.
Words of Daniel
They were in the 90s. In '89-90 the negotiations began, the meetings began, and Don Jaime, among what was known as the “Contra”, was recognized for his abilities, his merits, and they had him at their head, not firing bullets, but thinking, contributing, and when the time came to dialogue to seek Peace... It had been 10 years of war, mind you, more than 50,000 dead, and there was no way ahead but Peace.
There we talked to the Cardinal to help us take that great step towards Peace, and the Cardinal was always willing. He had already been a Mediator when a Commando of the Sandinista Front took over the house of Minister José María Castillo where there were Ministers, relatives of Somoza, and the Commando that was installed there was headed by Comandante Zero, Eduardo Contreras.
There the Cardinal began to talk to Somoza, to persuade him that there was no alternative but to negotiate, because if he wanted to take the house, everyone was going to be dead there, including Somoza's relatives. So, Somoza finally accepted and there we had the opportunity to secure the release of eight Compañeros.
I had already been a little over 7 years in prison when we were released, and when we were on the plane, we were going to Cuba, I was able to have a conversation with the Cardinal.
I met the Cardinal when I was very young like yourselves, I was studying that year in El Salvador, at a school called Santa Cecilia, in the city of Santa Tecla, and they took us out at weekends, taking us on walking tours.
On one tour they took us to a seminary where one of the priests who were receiving us told me that he was Nicaraguan, that he was not Salvadoran, but Nicaraguan, then he said to me: Look, here is a countryman of yours leading this Seminary. Ah yes, I said... I would like to meet him.
He took me to the Priest, we greeted each other, I asked him where he was from, where he was born, and he told me La Libertad, Chontales. Well, we're from the same town, I told him, because I too was born in La Libertad, Chontales, and he probably knew my mother, because my mother was very close to the Catholic Church. He told me that yes, that indeed, he, who was already an adult, and his mother, were close friends of my mother.
That’s how I met Cardinal Miguel, at the time it did not even occur to me that we were going to have him in those Mediations, and Somoza was annoyed with him and once called him “Comandante Miguel”, because he only came to advocate for prisoners.
Then it happened when Comandante Edén Pastora, who was also a Comandante Zero, freed a good number of Compañeros and Compañeras with the feat of the Seizure of the National Palace, a real feat really. And there was the Cardinal again.
There the negotiations lasted a little longer, because Somoza was furious and did not want to release any prisoners; but there too he had a lot of relatives who were Deputies or who had other positions. Then, in the end, he had no choice but to give in, and all the Compañeros and Compañeras were released.
On that occasion the flight was to Panama where General Torrijos, a very close friend of ours, was.
Rosario is reminding me, that Torrijos, who was a great friend of ours, who was a great support, would have turned 97 tomorrow. He died young, they put a bomb in his plane and blew him up there.
He fought for the recovery of the Panama Canal, and in the end it was possible for hom to recover it; but his enemies were angry, and in the end, what they did was assassinate him.
But General Torrijos is here present with us, beloved young men and women, beloved young people.
So, I told you just now that in the end the Contra agreed, they had their contradictions, because the situation was not easy, but in the end they agreed, a majority, to negotiate, to dialogue, and as a person of greater enlightenment, of greater preparation, of greater respect, they trusted in Don Jaime Morales.
The other person there was... I don't remember his name now, but the real Personality there was Don Jaime Morales, he was the best known in Nicaragua for everything I explained, he was better known than other Contra leaders, for all the work he had done in the Economic field, in the field of Education, in the field of Culture.
So, there I would say that he was a key Person enabling in the end that the agreements were reached, and that in that way we managed to put an end to the war. A war with more than 50,000 dead, imagine!
How many young men and women, how many young people died in those two consecutive wars, the one that culminated in 1979, after struggle which began after the assassination of General Sandino, then those struggles began.
That Hymn that we sang "To Fight, to Fight, To Fight”, that Hymn is the legacy of a guerrilla unit formed around a colonel of Sandino’s Army In Defense of National Sovereignty, who survived, but who at the age of 60 returned to the mountains and was accompanied by some journalists, accompanied by young people, and they began guerrilla fighting; but in the end, they were very few and they were confronting a great deal of resistance, and in the end they were practically liquidated.
But then came another guerrilla movement came, and then another; so, from that first guerrilla movement that I'm talking about that’s where that Anthem comes from, when there was no Sandinista Front, there came that Anthem, “Fight, Fight, Fight is our war cry...”, and then it was left to us for history.
There were tense, hard moments, those of the negotiation. I told you, I don't know at what event I told you, that when the first meetings were taking place, the Cardinal was with other mediators, the Cardinal was at the table, and the Nicaraguan government delegation came in and the mediators listened to the approaches we were taking on this and that.
Then the Nicaraguan government delegation left, and then the Cardinal told me how hard the situation was; because when the Nicaraguan government delegation left the room where the meeting took place, they send for the Delegation of the Resistance, to come in to listen to them and start the negotiation.
Then he says that 15 minutes pass, half an hour passef and they did not come in, so they insisted on calling them. At the end they came in, when they asked them what was wrong, why they hadn't come in, the answer given was: We didn't want to breathe the air that the Sandinistas had breathed. Imagine how crazy! How far to extremes people go, you can see, quite crazy.
But well, the breathing problem was overcome and the talks continued, it was via many efforts, many efforts, many discussions; in the end the light broke through, thank God light broke through, and there the Cardinal was decisive.
As Don Jaime wrote later, there can be no more wars! Wars only destroy peoples and kill young people, children, women, the elderly, families who have nothing to do with it, they also kill them. That's how terrible wars are, Don Jaime later wrote a very forceful piece of writing.
Thank God we made Peace! There was an attempt, you remember very well, we all remember that there was an attempt to disturb the Peace, which was in 2018, when we were doing much better, when we were working together, Workers, Peasants, Bankers, Businessmen, everyone working together, holding meetings continuously, and there in those meetings decisions were made, including salary levels which were decided in those meetings, between Workers, Businessmen, Peasants, everyone there discussed things.
That is, it was an extraordinary example that astonished the leaders of other Countries, who always asked us how we had done it. So, by opening the doors to everyone, we opened the doors to them and they were able to get what no government, let alone Somoza's, would ever have given them.
No Government of those who regarded themselves as representatives of those business classes, the government of Doña Violeta, the government of Doctor Alemán, the government of Enrique Bolaños, none of them could achieve that kind of Alliance, or Understanding. They never could! Although they wanted to, they couldn't, they couldn't find a way.
And well, when we came to the government we said, this is going to be complicated, because if they did not come to understandings with the governments that were supposed to be their representatives, they surely were going to be more difficult with us. But when we explained to them how we were going to work, that we were going to work on what is a consensus where we were all integrated, where everyone had the Right to speak, and everyone had the Right to propose. In the end we all made decisions together, and complied with the decisions in the economic field, in the social field, in the political field, in all fields.
That Great Alliance was so effective that it lasted from 2007 to 2018; that is, there were 11 years of complete Peace.
But there were those who did not want peace, who wanted war, and they were plotting, and in the end they thought the time had come to overthrow the government. Indeed, and they really believed it! Why? Because people from other countries, and especially from the country to the north, told them that they were going to give them all the support they needed to overthrow the government.
And what happened? What we did was not attack them, not repress them, but endure, we endured. Of course, and because we were holding back, they thought we were defeated, and that made them more stupid.
We had the country being paralyzed for three months, and in the meetings we had then there were representatives of those who had been part of the Alliance and who had got it into their heads that the time had come to throw out the Government and that they were going to be the Government.
So, when the Peasants who were there, when the Workers who were there in the Government Delegation proposed that the roadblocks be suspended, because they were affecting the population, they were affecting businesses, they were affecting the women vendors, who could not transit across the country, who could not transit in their regions and they were affecting the Economy.
Then it was put to a vote: Who agrees with the suspension of the roadblocks? The government delegation and the workers raised their hands. Who doesn't agree? All those who were with the idea of overthrowing the government raised their hands.
And the People were watching, because all of that was being broadcast on live television, the People could see who wanted to continue harming the People, destroying the People, destroying the Economy, and who were in favor of improving the situation.
In the end, well, it was then our responsibility, there was no way left but to dismantle the roadblocks, and we dismantled the roadblocks, where they had murdered people, where they were killing people every day, destroying small businesses, big businesses, and so on.
So we dismantled the roadblocks, because it was no problem for the government to dismantle the roadblocks, and we didn't do it the vefirst day because we didn't want to appear hasty and be accused that we were repressing the population.
I remember communicating with the Police Chiefs in the Departments, telling them: If they come to attack you, don't respond; protect yourselves, but don't respond. And there they came with their assault weapons, because they had rifles, they had AK47s, they had assault weapons.
In Masaya the attacks were daily, and I told them: No! Even when the Compañeros and Compañeras had to face arson attempts, because they were cornered there in the Barracks, but I said to them: No, you have to wait it out, you have to endure there. And some Compañeros and Compañeras died in those attacks but they did not shoot.
The motto was not to respond, and by not responding, the population could see that, the population was listening to it all, and then later the population began to demand of us, what were we waiting for to dismantle the roadblocks, that things could not continue like this.
So then we set out with the Police, with the Volunteer Police, and the roadblocks were dismantled in the blink of an eye, then everyone ran away.
That's how it all turned out, I remember from the first meeting I participated in, they started insulting us. But I wasn't going to get down with them to be insulting too, so I listened to them, and they were saying they already had the plane for us to leave. They went around everywhere saying that, and I just listened to them and started laughing; and in the end, it was they who ended up getting on the plane.
Well, beloved Brothers and Sisters, beloved Nicaraguan Families, beloved Young People, young men and women, here we have a national Youth that is integrated, integrated from the heart. And what does that mean? You who are here at this event and tomorrow will go out distributing packages to families in extreme poverty.
It is also up to you to deliver the many projects, as you have been delivering these new roads and hospitals; and you are linked to the different Institutions, that is to say you are not a Youth of empty words. No! You are Youth with a Conscience, with a Heart and who work for the benefit of the People, and all of that gives great value to this extraordinary, very special, marvelousYouth.
You are an example, an example of Conscience, you are an example of Solidarity, you are an example of Love for the People, you are an example of selflessness. You are worthy children of the Heroes and Martyrs, they are worthy children of those young men who were killed, more than 40 very young men, in San José de las Mulas.
The blood of Heroes and Martyrs runs in your hearts; their blood runs in you as does the example of Rubén Darío; the example of Cardinal Obando, and with you here is the example of two Brothers and Sisters who are proof of what Conscience is, of what Courage is. Because it took a lot of courage at that moment to be negotiating there, a lot of courage, because threats were made later to the very ones who were negotiating.
So, always Go Onward, always striving, studying, working and sharing Love with Families, with Nicaragua’s People.
Long live Nicaragua’s Youth!
Sandino Lives On, the Struggle Continues!
See you soon, Brothers and Sisters!