Event Handing Over Buses to the Country’s Public Transport Cooperatives
February 16th 2026
Address by Compañero Mauricio Aguilar
Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructure
Good afternoon, Nicaraguan families; Comandante Daniel Ortega Saavedra, Co-President of the Republic; Compañera Rosario Murillo Zambrana, Co-President of the Republic; Compañero Qu Yuhui, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Nicaragua; Compañero Laureano Ortega Murillo, Presidential Adviser for Investments, Trade and International Cooperation;
Compañero Fidel Moreno, Secretary General of the office of Mayor of Managua; Compañero Santi Zhou Quing, Representative of Yutong in Nicaragua; Compañera Jacqueline Acevedo Romero, Transport operator; Compañero Werny Mayorga Morales, Transport operator; Compañera Scarlett Urbina Martínez, Transport operator; Compañera Margarita Gómez.
Today we are accompanied by Bus Operators from Inter-Municipal Transport Cooperatives of the different Municipalities of the Country, who have always been committed to the good Transport service to the Families Protagonists of these New Victories of the Revolution.
Today we delivered 180 modern Yutong minibuses to Nicaragua’s families, coming from the People's Republic of China, and that go to strengthen the Inter-municipal Transport of Esteli, Chinandega, Granada, Masaya, Carazo, Boaco, Matagalpa, Jinotega Moderna, Nueva Guinea, Caribe Norte.
All this effort has been carried out through our Sandinista Good Government led by our Co-Presidents, Comandante Daniel Ortega and Compañera Rosario Murillo, who have firmly, decisively and consistently supported our country’s Transport Operators and Families.
The People of Nicaragua once again express deep gratitude to the Cooperation of the People's Republic of China for its Solidarity, the unconditional and strategic Collaboration they are giving to Nicaragua in a sustained, uninterrupted and increasingly broad way, for the development and well-being of the Nicaraguan People.
The Government of Reconciliation and National Unity has been successfully promoting a real Revolution, a radical change in the modernization, safety and comfort of passengers in the Public Transport service, with a transport system allowing Families to move about on the best Roads in Central America.
Thank you very much.
Address by Compañero Werny Mayorga Morales
Bus operator
Good afternoon, Comandante Daniel; good afternoon, Compañera Rosario, Co-Presidents of the Republic of Nicaragua; Compañero Laureano, Compañero Fidel; Compañero Ambassador of the People's Republic of China; to everyone presiding over this Table. And good afternoon to all our brother and sister transport operators and our People in general.
In this very Special Event, on behalf of all the transport operators, we want to express our sincere gratitude to our Co-President Comandante Daniel and our Co-President Compañera Rosario Murillo, for their firm commitment to strengthening our transport resources, and for continuing to promote these Projects that directly impact on the quality of Life of our People.
We would also like to thank you for appointing our colleague Laureano Ortega to the coordination and liaison with the People's Republic of China, to make the dream of the Nicaraguan People and the transport operators a reality, making it possible for these modern buses to be a reality today for our People’s transport services.
Since you returned to the Presidency in 2007, the People of Nicaragua have breathed Hope again, because today we not only have yet more new buses, but also new streets, modern hospitals and decent schools for our students.
Comandante Daniel and Compañera Rosario, on behalf of URECOTRACO and the entire Transporters guild, we give an enormous thanks for these projects strengthening pur transport services and improving the living conditions of thousands of users and of our brother and sister transport operators.
Comandante Daniel, Compañera Rosario, we reaffirm our commitment and unconditional support to continue working hand in hand with our Good Government, to continue restoring the Rights of our Nicaraguan Families.
Thank you very much Comandante Daniel, thank you very much Compañera Rosario, and thank you very much to all the People here present.
Address by Compañero Santi Zhou Quing
Yutong Representative in Nicaragua
Good afternoon beloved Co-President Comandante Daniel Ortega; good afternoon Co-President, Compañera Rosario Murillo; good afternoon beloved Ambassador Qu Yuhui, of the People's Republic of China; good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, Compañero Laureano Ortega; Vice Minister Mauricio; Compañero Fidel Moreno, Compañeros and Compañeras. Receive a warm greeting.
A very good afternoon and Happy Chinese New Year to all my Compatriots.
It is a pleasure and a great honor for me to be here again, and on behalf of Yutong I want to express our pleasure for continuing to participate in the growth and development of Nicaragua’s Public Transport. We have been part of this project since 2023.
We thank Comandante Daniel Ortega and Compañero Rosario Murillo, who gave us the opportunity to contribute to the modernization of Public Transport in Nicaragua.
Since the beginning of our collaboration we have delivered several batches of vehicles with a total of 2,200 units in Nicaragua.
Yutong accompanies the Nicaraguan people in their development process. Our team living and working in the country is committed to providing the greatest possible support to the Nicaraguan People and to guarantee that space during the lifetime of our products. We are still working to be able to offer new products, such as trucks and sanitation equipment, in the near future.
Finally, I sincerely hope that the quality of life of Nicaraguans will continue to be better every day.
Thank you very much.
Address by Compañero Qu Yuhui
Ambassador of the People's Republic of China in Nicaragua
A very good afternoon. I want to greet beloved Co-Presidents Comandante Daniel Ortega and Compañera Rosario Murillo; I also want to greet the other compañeros and compañeras present here, Compañero Laureano, who has worked so hard with us with his enthusiasm, passion and professionalism, to strengthen ties between China and Nicaragua; I also greet Compañero Fidel, Mauricio and the other compañeros and compañeras present here.
Today is a very special day, because today we just celebrated the Spring Festival, which is the most important Festival for the Chinese People, that's why it's a very special date for us.
Today has also been really unforgettable for me; today in the morning I attended the handover Ceremony of more than 100 Social Housing Units and several compañeros and compañeras were also with me, and today in the afternoon I am at this important event for the handover of 180 minibuses for the compañeros and compañeras of Nicaragua.
There is no better way to celebrate this important date for us together with our Brothers, Sisters, compañeros and compañeras from Nicaragua, which is yet more evidence of the Brother and Sisterhood, Friendship and Cooperation between China and Nicaragua.
I've only been here a little more than 3 months, but I'm so delighted with all the progress, with all the warm gestures of cooperation between our Peoples. Thank you very much.
I am also very delighted by all the efforts, the diligence of the Government of Nicaragua, under the leadership of Co-Presidents Comandante Daniel and Compañera Rosario, seeking how to improve the Life and Well-being of this Fraternal Country, this Beautiful Country.
I believe there are many common points between the Government of China and the Government of Nicaragua, and also between our Parties, the Communist Party of China and the Sandinista National Liberation Front. They are two Parties, two Governments, which always prioritize the Well-being, the Happiness of their Peoples, working with all the firmness, with all the dedication for these objectives.
After arriving there, I have had the privilege of witnessing the implementation of so many Projects carried out by the Government of Nicaragua in the areas of Infrastructure, Social Housing, Roads, Streets, Public Health, Education, Public Security, and so on.
And I'm also proud that China has been a partner in this whole process. And why has China been a partner in this noble Process? First of all, because we have strong leadership from both Heads of State of the two Countries; both President Xi Jinping and the Co-Presidents highly value this Cooperation between China and Nicaragua.
And for this very reason, over the course of little more than 4 years, after the re-establishment of Diplomatic Relations between China and Nicaragua, in such a short time we have realized many achievements.
Secondly, we have strong mutual political trust.
I am very grateful for Nicaragua's strong support for the One-China Principle, as well as Nicaragua's support for the great Global Initiatives that China has launched and defended. And vice versa. We, China, also firmly support the determination and will of the Government and People of Nicaragua to pursue a path of development, in an autonomous, sovereign and independent way. It is these common values that unite the two nations.
Thirdly, I think this Cooperation has been so valuable and good, because our Cooperation is Cooperation on an equal footing, without the imposition of any conditions, without interfering in internal affairs; it has been cooperation that benefits both sides, based on mutual respect and shared benefits.
Finally, it is a good relationship because the Chinese business sector has also contributed a lot to this rapprochement between China and Nicaragua; they are competitive companies, they have grown a lot over the years and they have also been responsible companies that know how to fulfill their obligations. And I can't help but be grateful for all the trust that our Nicaraguan Brothers and Sisters have placed in Chinese companies.
That is why I believe that, with these Values, our Cooperation has been a Model for Cooperation between Countries; and this Cooperation has been very valuable, not only for us, but also for other Developing Countries, because we are living in a far from peaceful World, a World full of uncertainties.
I believe the greatest conflict that humanity is facing now, is on the one hand, how to strengthen the will and determination of Developing Countries to seek their autonomous development, a Better Life, via Development, Peace and Stability; but, on the other hand, we are also seeing the growth of hegemonism...
That is why I believe that the Cooperation between China and Nicaragua can and will be a good Model for us; together, hand in hand, we can face and overcome the difficulties and challenges that we face as countries of the Global South.
I am very sure and I am very convinced that, for this New Year, the Year of the Horse, we are going to work even harder, because in Chinese Culture the Horse symbolizes speed.
And when we commemorate the Fifth Anniversary of the Re-establishment of Diplomatic Relations between China and Nicaragua, we will accelerate our steps, run when necessary, and work firmly so that we advance on the various fronts of our Cooperation; we have Solidarity Cooperation, we have Cooperation between business companies, we also have collaboration in areas such as Culture, Education, Professional Training, etc.
With the joint efforts between China and Nicaragua, between the two Peoples, I think we are certainly going to end the Year of the Horse even better than this Year of the Snake.
And finally, I wish that, under the leadership of the Co-Presidents, under the leadership of the Sandinista Government, this beautiful Country, so very fraternal with China, will always have Peace, Development and Stability.
Thank you very much. And long live Chinese and Nicaraguan Friendship!
Address by Daniel
Beloved Nicaraguan Brothers and Sisters, beloved Brother and Sister transport operators, because here we have a woman transport operator, and there we have another , and there another ... Three bus operators, brave, enterprising, Victorious Women!
The Compañero Deputy Minister of Transport has already introduced those of us who are here presiding over this Even, and you too are here presiding over this Event as well, because all of you are presiding over this Even; this is an Event that is being presided over and followed on television by the Nicaraguan people.
Here is Compañero Zhao Chunjiang; Compañero Shi Yulong; the Yutong Team of engineers who work permanently in the after-sales service in our country, and they are the one who are dynamizing transport for the benefit of Nicaragua’s Families, for the presidents and members of the Transport Cooperatives, who are the protagonists of this delivery of buses.
How much joy at this time of the Year of the Horse, of the Horse that trots, trotting around the World, giving Affection, giving Love, giving Well-being, because the People's Republic of China is an example of Peace.
When there is Peace, there is Love. When there is Peace, there is Solidarity. When there is Peace, there is Brother and Sisterhood. When there is Peace we are Brothers and Sisters, and we are full of gratitude to the Glorious People of the People's Republic of China, to President Xi Jinping, to the Party, we have always been fraternal Parties, indeed, we have always been fraternal Parties.
Other Powers in the World, using billions and billions, full of atomic weapons, waging wars on all sides; oppressing and exploiting developing Peoples, in Asia, in Africa, in Latin America. The only exception is the People's Republic of China.
It is good to remember that when the Revolution triumphed in Nicaragua, here the Diplomatic Mission was usurped on behalf of Taiwan. Really the Taiwanese are Chinese and should be proud that they are Chinese and not Taiwanese dregs.
And that came about because in 1990 we went to elections, and we, respectful of the Citizens' vote, despite having a Supreme Electoral Council of Sandinista specialists, did not think of cheating. But what was the result? The result in that1990 Election came and in the early morning, we recognized the results.
Until that moment Nicaragua had relations with the People's Republic of China, based on Principles, for the Love of Peace, for the Love of Work, for the Love of Solidarity, our Parties were fraternal Parties, and still are, they were fraternal Parties; but we lost the Elections, and the Señora who was supported by the great power of North America had not yet received the Presidential Sash; that North American Power there since the 1850s when the Central American Countries had just become independent from Spain, and we had proclaimed the end of slavery, because there was slavery in those earlier times.
And we had not finished handing over the Presidential Sash handed over not by the People of Nicaragua but because of the terror that instilled in the people of Nicaragua, because the spokespeople of that US Government, of the US President at that time, dedicated themselves to saying that, if the Sandinista Front won, the war would continue.
Because the war, after the Revolution triumphed in 1979, where the people had already lost more than 50,000, 60,000 dead and when the Revolution triumphed, immediately the US Government declared war on us and began to arm the Counterrevolutionaries, began to train the Counterrevolutionaries; trained them how to torture, so that they learned to torture any prisoners they could capture.
And how long did that second war, the second war led by the President of the United States, last? That war lasted 10 years, '79 that's when the war started. And the President of the United States, who was Ronald Reagan, a film actor who enjoyed behaving like a cowboy, was completely brazen; so Ronald Reagan came and publicly declared that he was a Counterrevolutionary and that he was going to continue arming the Counterrevolutionaries to end the Sandinista Revolution.
It was a bloody war... More than 50,000 dead! Imagine, a river of the dead in a country with a small population, in a country of extreme poverty.
In the end, when the elections were coming, Reagan said: If you vote for the Sandinistas there will be more weapons and we are going to overthrow them; if you vote for the Sandinistas the war will continue. In other words, the People had to vote with a gun to their head, and that explains why a large part of the population gave Reagan the vote, because here it was the choice between Nicaragua and Reagan.
Then that Señora won the election, and immediately the first thing she did as President was announce the severing of relations with the People's Republic of China and the opening of relations with Taiwan. And that’s how the country was, because when another election came it was another one willing to serve the Yankees, Dr. Arnoldo Alemán was elected.
Well, later, came another election and always with the same threat, Señor Enrique Bolaños was elected, and you can see during all that period Nicaragua’s relations were with Taiwan.
In the end we managed to achieve victory again, because there were some who felt somewhat dismayed demoralized, who said: No, we couldn't do it in the first election, nor in the second, nor in the third. And indeed it was not possible in the first, nor possible in the second, nor in the third, but it was possible in the fourth electoral period because when there is Awareness, there is Valor, there is Courage.
And why was it possible in the fourth? Because the People no longer believed what the Yankees were saying: that they were going to be offered millions, that they were going to be offered housing, that they were going to be offered houses, trucks, buses… what did the Yankees not offer during three governments run by the Yankees themselves! And what did the People receive? Every day more poverty, more difficulties, more hunger, more misery.
You see, the Yankees had the opportunity to shower Nicaragua with wealth back then, and they didn't do it. They played a joke on those who voted for them!
But the People reacted in 2006, and Victory came, Victory came for the People, victory came for the Sandinista National Liberation Front.
And what did we find? We found a country in the dark, because they had not developed major Energy Programs, they cared little that people had no energy. Energy for them yes, but energy for the People no. And the people resented that there was no power, with long blackouts every day and then week-long blackouts. Already when Señor Bolaños was governing the few power plants that existed were collapsing.
On the other hand, take a good look at these data that I am going to give you... These are the data of the buses that were in Nicaragua, from the year 1990, when the Yankees took over the government here. Did they give anyone give a bus here? Did they bring any fleet of buses? Zero! Zero!
Back then the transport operators, with their own effort, with their sweat, with their blood, but with energy, with courage, they did what they could to put together the little money they had so as to buy used buses, and there the transport operators acquired approximately 300 used buses. Imagine that!
Then, in the period of Doctor Alemán, they still stayed waiting; from 1997 to 2002 the transport operators, through their own effort, collected money as best they could, saving money as best they could, borrowing money as best they could, and thus the bus operators managed to buy, not the Government, but the transport operators, bought another 400 used buses. All the buses that the transport operators bought were used vehicles, they did not have the capacity to buy a new bus.
And in the period from 2002 to 2007, when Señor Bolaños was then in his period of government period, the transport operators by their own effort again also managed to buy another 400 used buses.
That is, blood was dripping, blood dripped from the transport operators, sweat and blood, and it took a lot of courage to be buying used buses so as to continue providing a service to the population. Because there was no real government here and in those three governments that had received the Yankee promises, no government here either even considered contributing something from their budget to buy some buses and give them to the bus operators. No! No!
Then we achieved our victory in 2006 and came to the government in 2007. In 2007 the inter-municipal bus fleet, which is separate, was 1,400 buses; the municipal fleet was 300 buses, and in Managua there were 900 buses. Which added up to 2,600 buses nationwide.
So you can see, that was what the three governments left behind nothing was invested by the Government to give to the transport operators, nothing was donated by the Yankees, who did not even donate a single tire. Simply, this fleet was put together with the sacrifice of the bus operators and their families; a truly heroic effort that deserves all our respect.
Then, from 2007 to 2026, where our government is concerned, at that time relations with the People's Republic of China had not yet resumed because we had been tied, by the previous governments, to Taiwan.
aThen, in 2009, the Sandinista Government acquired 300 GAZ buses from the Russian Federation, a Friendly Country, a fraternal Country, and they provided us with 300 buses.
Then in 2012, the Russian Federation delivered another 170 GAZ brand buses to us. These buses were new, they weren't used, they were new vehicles.
In 2012, also, at the same time that these buses from the Russian Federation were coming in, another fraternal People, a friendly People, the People where General Sandino was for a while, a Nation, Mexico, Beautiful and Beloved Mexico, sent us 350 DINA buses.
Then, in 2021, a new arrangement with the Russian Federation, and they sent us another 250 GAZ buses, again.
In 2023, the Russian Federation also sent us 300 GAZ buses.
Then came the big leap with the People's Republic of China.
In 2023, the People's Republic of China gave us Nicaraguans 500 Yutong buses from the People's Republic of China.
In 2024, came 1,000 Yutong buses and minibuses from the People's Republic of China.
In 2025, 500 Yutong brand buses and minibuses came from the People's Republic of China.
In 2025, 100 AsiaStar buses came from the People's Republic of China.
And now, in the year 2026, 180 buses, Yutong minibuses, from the People's Republic of China.
And so we can make a summary, in all this period that we have talked about, where buses were arriving from other fraternal Peoples, well, 350 buses from Mexico; from Russia a total of 1,100 buses, and from the People's Republic of China, so far, 2,280 buses and minibuses.
So today we can say that we have a nationwide transport fleet of 4,610 buses and minibuses... ¡4,610!
And in the previous years we just about managed to keep going, before we arrived back in Government in 2007 and reopening relations with the Brothers of the People's Republic of China, what we had left were buses of great value. Why of great value? Because they were buses that cost the transport operators sweat and blood; because they were buses already used when they bought them.
How long did those used buses used last here? Some lasted a little while, some lasted a little longer, some didn't last at all. That is the reality, that is to say a transport operator was working miracles by adding more transport to serve Nicaragua’s families, even though they were used buses, it still cost them blood and their own money to do so.
Beloved Ambassador, please convey to President Xi Jinping, to the Heroic People of the People's Republic of China, please convey to them our Affection, our Gratitude, for their unconditional Generosity, with no conditions, without any conditions. That should be the way humanity behaves, treating each other as Brothers and Sisters so that that we see much less fury, much less war, much less bloodshed.
So here the Struggle has to continue being the Struggle for Peace. Even if others insist on war, even if they insist on continuing to build atomic weapons, even if they insist on launching atomic weapons, the Peoples of the world basically reject this behavior, reject this terrorist attitude, because only terrorists act in this way. And honest men and Women, honest Young People, are the ones who behave the way the People of the People's Republic of China behave.
Long live the People's Republic of China!
Long live Peace!
Long live President Xi Jinping!
Long live the Year of the Horse!
And Long Live the Men and Women and Public Transport Operators of all Nicaragua!
And We'll Going Onward, We'll Keep Going Ahead!