Ortega empowers Air Force chief for Saudi aerial agreement

Co-presidents Daniel Ortega Saavedra and Rosario Murillo Zambrana granted full powers to Brigadier General Efrén Alejandro Marín Serrano, head of the Air Force of the Nicaraguan Army, to sign, on behalf of the State, the “Air Services Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua.” The decision was formalized in Presidential Agreement No. 131-2026, published in La Gaceta, Official Gazette No. 180 on Friday, October 2, 2026, in the Government House section, page 9562. Consequently, the Air Force is authorized to represent the country in the signing of a bilateral aeronautical instrument with Riyadh.

The agreement was issued in the city of Managua, Government House, on September 30, 2026, “in exercise of the powers conferred by the Political Constitution,” and bears the signatures of Daniel Ortega Saavedra, co-president of the Republic of Nicaragua, and Rosario Murillo Zambrana, co-president. The full text is published in the Government House section of the official gazette, in the edition corresponding to Year CXXX, number 180, consisting of 24 pages.

The three articles of Presidential Agreement No. 131-2026

The instrument consists of three articles and does not include recitals:

• Article 1: grants full powers to “Comrade Brigadier General Efrén Alejandro Marín Serrano, Head of the Air Force of the Nicaraguan Army” so that, acting in the name and representation of the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua, he may sign the “Air Services Agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua.”
• Article 2: establishes that the certification of the presidential agreement itself “is sufficient to accredit the authority” of the officer to act on behalf of the Government, pursuant to article 1 of the instrument.
• Article 3: provides that the agreement takes effect “as of this date” and orders its publication in La Gaceta, Official Gazette.

An aeronautical instrument without published details

The October 2 edition reproduces only the presidential agreement granting the representation; it does not transcribe the content of the “Air Services Agreement” to be signed with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the official gazette does not specify routes, frequencies, airline designations, tariffs, or the terms of validity of the future bilateral convention.

The designated signatory is the head of the Nicaraguan Army Air Force, a branch of the military institution, and not a civil official from the transport or civil aviation sector. The publication occurs two days after the issuance date of the agreement and in the same edition in which the official gazette reports other administrative acts, such as notices from the Nicaraguan Institute for Cooperative Development and trademark registrations from the Intellectual Property Registry.

Publication and Validity

Presidential Agreement No. 131-2026 appears in the summary of the edition under the heading Government House, indicating page 9562, and leads the acts published that day. Its validity is retroactive to the date of issuance, September 30, 2026, and the certification of the document is sufficient, according to its own text, to accredit the representation of Brigadier General Efrén Alejandro Marín Serrano before the Saudi counterpart.

The authorization opens the formal path for Nicaragua to sign an air services agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a step that, if materialized, would impact airline operations and the country’s connectivity. Until the text of the agreement is published, its actual scope—routes, traffic rights, and frequencies—remains outside the official record.

Source: La Gaceta, Official Gazette No. 180, Friday, October 2, 2026, Government House section, p. 9562 (official reference: Presidential Agreement No. 131-2026).