Zoilamérica Ortega Murillo
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Zoilamérica Ortega Murillo
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Zoilamérica in 2019
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| Born |
Zoilamérica Narváez Murillo
Managua, Nicaragua
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| Education | Central American University |
| Parent(s) | Jorge Narváez Parajón (biological father) Rosario Murillo (mother) |
Zoilamérica Ortega Murillo (née Narváez Murillo) (born November 13, 1967, in Managua) is a Nicaraguan-born consultant for Comunidad Casabierta, an LGBTI rights organisation in Costa Rica. She is also a former member of the National Assembly of Nicaragua.
In 1998, she accused the president of Nicaragua and her stepfather, Daniel Ortega, of sexually abusing her as a child.[1][2]
Life
Zoilamérica was born in Managua on November 13, 1967, to Rosario Murillo and Jorge Narváez Parajón (m. 1967; d. 1968). In 1977, her mother entered a relationship with Sandinista National Liberation Front leader Daniel Ortega in Costa Rica, where she was traveling with an ex-boyfriend, and where Ortega had entered a self-imposed exile following the revolution against dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle.[3]
In February 1998, she accused her stepfather, Daniel Ortega, of sexually abusing her as a child beginning in 1978. She recounted her entire experience with Ortega, from her exile under the Somoza regime, her return for the Sandinista Revolution, the literacy crusade, Ortega's 1990 electoral defeat, and her relationship with her mother.[1][2][4]
According to her account, April 1989 was the last time that Ortega raped her, through a third party.[clarification needed] In September 1990, her mother threw her out of the presidential house during a meltdown. Zoilamérica was recovering from a leg operation. Beginning in the 1990s, Zoilamérica recounted that her sexual harassment by the former president had transitioned to telephone calls and was never physical again.[4]
In her account, she described her experience of abuse by Ortega:
He (Daniel Ortega) ejaculated on my body to avoid the risk of pregnancy, and he continued to do so repeatedly; My mouth, legs, and breasts were the areas where he most frequently spurted his semen, despite my disgust and revulsion. He soiled my body, using it as he pleased, regardless of what I felt or thought. His pleasure was the most important thing; he ignored my pain.[5]
From her exile in Costa Rica, she condemned her stepfather during the 2021 Nicaraguan general election.[6]
Similar case of sexual abuse related to Ortega
Elvia Junieth, exiled with Murillo's family in Miami, also alleged that she was abused by the president in 2005 and, according to the family, a girl was born from that relationship whom Ortega did not acknowledge.[7] Her brother, Santos Sebastián Flores Castillo, died in the Modelo Tipitapa Prison in November 2021.[8][9]
In popular culture
The 2019 documentary film Exiliada (Exiled) revolves around and interviews her, as well as her complaints of sexual abuse against Ortega in 1998.[10]
References
- ^ a b Davison, Phil (May 28, 1998). "Ortega faces sex abuse case from his stepdaughter". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2018.
- ^ a b Watts, Jonathan (November 4, 2016). "As Nicaragua's first couple consolidates power, a daughter fears for her country". The Guardian. Retrieved November 4, 2017.
- ^ "Rosario Murillo, la despiadada primera dama detrás de la represión en Nicaragua". La Nación (in Spanish). Archived from the original on August 3, 2018. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
- ^ a b "Testimonio de Zoilamérica Narváez contra su padrastro Daniel Ortega". www.latinamericanstudies.org. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
- ^ "Zoilamérica Narváez, hijastra del sátrapa: "A los 11 años abusó de mí y a los 15 me violó"". okdiario.com (in Spanish). November 8, 2021. Retrieved August 31, 2025.
- ^ Phillips, Tom (November 5, 2021). "Nicaraguan exiles see vote as step on Ortega's road to dictatorship". The Guardian. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
- ^ Flores, Judith. "Mi niña fue violada por Daniel Ortega". Patria de Martí (in European Spanish). Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ "Muere en cárcel de Nicaragua hombre que acusó a Ortega de violar a su hermana". SWI swissinfo.ch (in Spanish). Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ "Nicaragua: fue hallado muerto en prisión el abogado que denunció que su hermana fue violada por Daniel Ortega cuando tenía 15 años". infobae (in European Spanish). Retrieved March 3, 2023.
- ^ "Documental "Exiliada" ya puede verse en Nicaragua". Niú (in Spanish). May 7, 2020. Archived from the original on September 6, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2021.