Francisco Javier Díaz Madriz Explained

Office:Director General of the National Police of Nicaragua
Term Start:August 23, 2018
Predecessor:Aminta Granera Sacasa
Appointer1:Daniel Ortega
Birth Place:Chinandega, Nicaragua

Francisco Javier Díaz Madriz is the Director General of the National Police of Nicaragua. He was appointed by president Daniel Ortega on July 5, 2018,[1] following Aminta Granera's resignation from the position in the face of mass protests across Nicaragua and the widespread criticism of the aggressive police response that followed.[2] The appointment became public August 23 and Díaz was officially sworn in on September 5, 2018.

Díaz was sanctioned by the U.S. State Department on July 5, 2018—a few hours before the decree appointing Díaz Director-General—under the Magnitsky Act for what the State Department called "serious human rights abuse against the people of Nicaragua" by police under his supervision during the protests.[3]

Díaz and Ortega are related through their children's marriage.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Muere padre de Francisco Díaz, jefe de la Policia de Nicaragua. December 7, 2018. El Nuevo Diario. es. 2019-03-21. 2019-03-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20190321175412/https://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/nacionales/481080-muere-padre-francisco-diaz-policia-nicaragua/. dead.
  2. Web site: Ortega decide la salida de Granera. 2018-04-28. Confidencial. es-ES. 2019-02-01.
  3. Web site: Nicaragua names police chief sanctioned by US over crackdown. 2018-08-23. AP NEWS. 2019-02-01.