The regime of Daniel Ortega stripped nine American retirees of their luxury homes in Playa Gavilán, Tola municipality, in the Rivas department, at the end of August, and transferred them to the Nicaraguan Institute of Social Security (INSS), according to an investigation by Confidencial.
The total losses—construction, improvements, and personal belongings that were inside—were estimated by the owners to be 15 million dollars.
The mechanism used is the same one that the Nicaraguan dictatorship has systematically employed against opponents and former political prisoners: the Attorney General's Office confiscates the property without notification or a transparent legal process and then "donates" it to the INSS.
This case marks a milestone: it is the first known instance that this formula is applied to foreign citizens, particularly Americans.
The retirees arrived in Nicaragua in the 2000s and completed building their houses in 2010, protected by Law 690 for the Development of Coastal Areas, which allows individuals to own buildings even if the land belongs to the state.
For over 15 years, they paid an annual fee of $1,000 to the Tola Municipality—managed by the Sandinista Front—plus the Property Tax, under renewable lease agreements.
In 2026, the city hall unilaterally canceled those contracts without prior notice.
"We had been living in peace for over 15 years, annually paying the Municipal Tax on Real Estate to the Tola City Hall, as well as our renewable rental contract. Out of nowhere, they canceled this year's rental contract and took away our homes," stated one of the affected individuals.
On the day of the confiscation, men who identified themselves as "INSS officials" arrived at the properties and ordered the guards to leave because the houses had "passed into the hands of the institution."
The owners learned about it from their own employees. When they consulted with the Police and the Municipality of Tola, they were informed that the properties were already owned by the State.
The homes, designed in a Mediterranean style, were fully furnished—some with pools and solar panels—and included furniture, appliances, as well as clothing and other personal items belonging to their owners.
The construction of the smallest house cost around 500,000 dollars; the largest one, between 700,000 and 800,000 dollars.
When the retirees contacted the central office of the INSS in Managua, an official offered to rent them their own houses for about 2,000 dollars a month.
"It's a mockery; they take away our homes and then they want to rent them back to us," responded one of the homeowners.
The confiscation also left about 15 local workers unemployed, who were engaged in security, gardening, maintenance, cleaning, and cooking.
"I don't think they have any idea of the harm they are causing. Several people have lost their jobs, but we were also spending at local businesses," said another affected individual.
The retirees reported the case to the United States Embassy in Managua, but received a response stating that the diplomatic representation could not intervene in property matters.
A spokesperson for the State Department described the situation as "deeply regrettable" and recalled that its travel advisory for Nicaragua —updated in July 2026 to level 3 ("reconsider travel")— already warned that authorities may seize property without prior notice or legal justification.
This case is part of a pattern of accelerated dispossession. Between 2024 and October 2026, the PGJ transferred more than 370 confiscated properties to the INSS.
In April of this year, the United States sanctioned Ortega's children and companies linked to the gold sector for facilitating the confiscation of U.S. assets, amidst increasing pressure on the regime.
"What hurts the most is that they have taken away our dream of living in peace in this country, which we fell in love with and decided to invest in to stay," summarized one of the dispossessed retirees.
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