Ortega and Murillo renew ENEL's executive leadership with five appointments

The Presidency of the Republic of Nicaragua appointed the new Board of Directors of the Nicaraguan Electricity Company (ENEL) through Presidential Agreement No. 126-2026, signed on September 24, 2026, and published in La Gaceta, Official Gazette No. 176 on Monday, September 28, 2026, on page 9390. The agreement replaces the leadership appointed in June and takes effect from its publication.

The appointment is based on Article 5 of Executive Decree No. 46-94, “Creation of the Nicaraguan Electricity Company (ENEL),” whose consolidated text was published in La Gaceta, Official Gazette No. 217 on November 29, 2023. The decision bears the signatures of Co-President Daniel Ortega Saavedra and Co-President Rosario Murillo Zambrana, and was adopted at the Government House in Managua on September 24, 2026.

Presidential Agreement No. 126-2026 consists of three articles: the first establishes the board of directors, the second repeals the previous appointment, and the third sets the entry into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette.

The five members of the new board of directors

The board of directors of ENEL is composed of five representatives from State institutions and sectors:

• Cristofer Manuel Bolaños Cuarezma, representative of the Ministry of Energy, as President.
• Marlon Antonio Navarrete Mena, representative of the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit, as Vice President.
• Ernesto Martínez Tiffer, representative of the Nicaraguan Electricity Company, as Secretary.
• Erwin Vicente Ramírez Colindres, representative of the Ministry of Promotion, Industry and Commerce, as Member.
• Emerson Alexis Salgado Estrada, representative of the Electric Industry Sector, as Member.

Repeal of the June agreement

Article 2 of Presidential Agreement No. 126-2026 nullifies Presidential Agreement No. 95-2026, approved on June 25, 2026, and published in La Gaceta, Official Gazette No. 117 on June 29, 2026. Consequently, the leadership appointed three months ago is no longer in effect and is replaced by the list published this Monday.

Simultaneous adjustments in the electricity sector

The same edition of the Official Gazette includes two other presidential agreements that reorganize the leadership of the energy sector. Presidential Agreement No. 125-2026 designates the Board of Directors of the National Electric Transmission Company (ENATREL) —Emerson Alexis Salgado Estrada, Elí Esaú Roque Rocha, and Ervin Enrique Barreda Rodríguez— and nullifies Presidential Agreement No. 144-2025, approved on September 9, 2025, and published in La Gaceta, Official Gazette No. 171 on September 11, 2025.

For its part, Presidential Agreement No. 127-2026 grants Cristofer Manuel Bolaños Cuarezma and Emerson Alexis Salgado Estrada the representation of the State’s capital shares in Distribuidora de Electricidad del Norte, S.A. (DISNORTE) and Distribuidora de Electricidad del Sur, S.A. (DISSUR), with powers to vote and be elected to their boards of directors and executive committees. This agreement is based on Law No. 1056, “Law for Sovereign Assurance and Guarantee of the Electric Energy Supply to the Nicaraguan Population,” published in La Gaceta, Official Gazette No. 237 on December 22, 2020, and repeals Presidential Agreement No. 92-2026, dated June 25, 2026.

Impact on electrical operation

The renewal of the ENEL leadership and the parallel adjustments in ENATREL, DISNORTE, and DISSUR concentrate the management of the country’s electrical generation, transmission, and distribution within a single group of officials. For users, this change defines who is responsible for the operation of the system and for the supply, in a sector regulated by Law No. 1056 and under the leadership of the Ministry of Energy.

Source: La Gaceta, Official Gazette No. 176, Monday, September 28, 2026, Casa de Gobierno, p. 9390 (official reference: Presidential Agreement No. 126-2026).