In late November 2022, an unnoticed power shift within Nicaragua’s ruling circle paved the way for 58-year-old General Commissioner Zhukov Serrano Pérez to take control of the National Police’s investigative branch. Now in charge of political espionage, Serrano wields extraordinary power within the Ortega-Murillo family’s primary repressive apparatus.
Serrano’s rise to Deputy Director was marked by an improbable event: Daniel Ortega himself ordered the imprisonment of General Commissioner Adolfo Marenco Corea, Serrano’s predecessor. Marenco was sent to El Chipote prison, one of the Ortega regime’s most notorious torture centers, an unexpected fate for a decades-long accomplice.
Police sources confirmed to DIVERGENTES that Marenco remains under surveillance and is threatened. One relative is imprisoned, and another associate was expelled from Nicaragua after inquiring about Marenco’s fate. Delving into Marenco’s situation means hitting a wall of secrecy.
Serrano assumed his new role amid these turbulent circumstances but with Ortega’s support. Over 17 years in power, Ortega has shaped the National Police to serve his interests through legal reforms, ensuring that no high-ranking officer—at least publicly—dares contradict him. He established direct relationships with other police chiefs, turning them into his accomplices in exchange for favors and appointing himself as the “Supreme Chief.”
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However, Ortega shares power with his wife, Rosario Murillo. Below them are Minister Horacio Rocha, Police Director Francisco Díaz Madriz, and Serrano. Others, like advisor Néstor Moncada Lau, one of Ortega’s most ruthless collaborators, have receded into the shadows, while the Ministry of the Interior has been revived to further repress and monitor citizens.
According to three sources, the common trait among the group of “presidential advisors” is loyalty and a habit of conspiring as a personal practice. Ortega likely considered these traits when choosing Serrano for the head of police investigations, a position with unique challenges.
“Zhukov is one of the most powerful figures within the police force and the dictatorship’s repressive apparatus. His responsibilities include political surveillance and coordinating control and repression with other institutions. The police investigations unit, which he leads, is closely linked to the Directorate of Investigations for Army Defense (DID), making him a key player in this group,” explains a police affairs analyst who spoke anonymously.
This source notes differences between Marenco’s and Serrano’s police careers. Marenco belongs to a generation of officers trained during a period of police professionalization, before the institution regressed and became fully subordinate to the dictatorship.
Although the National Police was founded as a Sandinista institution, after the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) lost power in 1990, the police redefined itself as a civil, apolitical, and nonpartisan force, changing its leadership and even its uniform. This effort included extensive training for its members, but it was ultimately buried by Ortega’s interests and the ambitions of several police leaders starting in 2007.
In contrast, Serrano’s police career was “shaped directly under the Ortega-Murillo regime.” What does this mean? He is a man serving the ruling duo, with Murillo’s authority steadily increasing as she appoints female police chiefs within the structure. Another expert emphasizes Serrano’s loyalty to the Sandinista Front’s Secretariat, the Ortega family’s residence, but notes that his loyalty to Ortega is also personal.
In other words, he is a “creature” of the ORMU, the initials by which critics colloquially refer to the ruling duo. An official media analysis reveals that Serrano rose through the ranks under their shadow. He became a sub-commissioner in 2008—one year after Ortega returned to power—and was promoted two ranks six years later. By 2014, he was already a senior commissioner. Finally, on September 19, 2019, he was appointed general commissioner and took over as Deputy Director in 2022.
A Russia student and a disciple of Marenco
But Serrano’s biography has many gaps. He was born on Sunday, August 7, 1966, in Ocotal, in the department of Nueva Segovia, northern Nicaragua. Zhukov is a Russian name, and his identity card number is 4810708660001A. He resides in Managua.
Those who know him describe him as someone who imposes distance with his interlocutors. He is discrete and careful not to make “personal mistakes” that could put him at risk, given his police specialty. He prefers to keep a low profile and is very cautious about what he says, but he is known for “following orders without objection.”
On December 19, 2022, Ortega enthusiastically introduced Serrano to the graduates of the Walter Mendoza Academy’s 25th class, dedicated to the “legacy” of guerrilla priest Gaspar García Laviana. Ortega recounted that Serrano’s father was an admirer of Marshal Georgy Zhukov, famous for leading the troops that took Berlin at the end of World War II. Ortega claimed that Serrano had “specialized studies” in Russia but did not say what they were. Serrano is fluent in Russian, having studied there for two years.
Unlike other occasions where Ortega is terse with his interlocutors, he showed some warmth towards Serrano. But when Ortega asked about his place of study, Serrano responded quietly, saying only “Federation,” referring to Russia. Ortega had to complete the answer. Serrano’s file belongs to the intelligence division, where he worked closely with the ousted Marenco. These officers rarely talk about their lives, especially in public.
Ortega’s praise for Zhukov and Avellán
During the graduation ceremony, Ortega also praised another high-ranking officer in front of the police: Deputy Director Ramón Avellán, whom he called simply a “hero.” Avellán, a Sandinista, often calls on party members while wearing his uniform. He founded the National Police and was sanctioned by the United States for executing the 2018 “clean-up operation,” which left 107 dead and hundreds injured, according to the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Serrano was 13 years old when the Sandinista Revolution triumphed. He turned 24 when the FSLN lost power in 1990, forcing them into opposition, during which Ortega vowed to “govern from below.” According to a source connected to the police force, Serrano participated in the police’s technical and operational division in the 1990s.
But this division was not listed in any organizational chart. Its officers provided services to police investigative units, focusing on surveillance and tracking targets deemed of investigative interest. They verified data, located addresses, and established contacts that were crucial for investigations, according to the source.
“The personnel in this division had to be discreet and low-profile. In other words, the now-Deputy Director had to carry out his police work undercover at that time, without revealing his identity. The idea was to protect him from any threats. Zhukov had those characteristics,” the source added.
The intelligence division was crucial when the ORMU unleashed brutal repression against the population in 2018 under Rosario Murillo’s order to “Go with everything.” During those state-attacked protests, 355 people were killed, and more than 2,000 were injured, according to the United Nations. A UN expert group reminded in March 2023 that the deputy directors within Nicaragua’s National Police, including Serrano, have specific operational responsibilities: political intelligence, judicial investigation, surveillance, patrol, and communications.
Academically, Serrano was trained to fight “organized crime,” according to records from the Walter Mendoza Police Academy in Managua. In 2008, when he was a sub-commissioner, he presented his postgraduate thesis on Police Administration, titled “The Use of Modern Technology in the National Police for Telecommunications Interception in Organized Crime.” His classmates were equally discreet anti-narcotics specialists. Invisible. One of them is General Commissioner Jardiel Alfredo Gutiérrez Ubau, head of the police’s anti-narcotics division.
Another curious detail is the acknowledgments Serrano made in his thesis to his “mentors,” including former National Police Commissioner Franco Montealegre (1996-2001), former Deputy Director Francisco Bautista Lara (an Ortega ally), current finance officer Aldo Sáenz (who knows the details of repression financing), former chief of staff Javier Dávila Rueda, and Freddy Franco.
The permanent policy of Ortega’s terror
Among the most serious human rights violations attributed to Nicaragua’s authorities by international organizations are extrajudicial executions. UN experts have reported crimes against humanity and even provided evidence for potential prosecutions abroad against officials.
“No one in the police chain of command can claim ignorance of the law or the crimes against humanity committed. There is liability for action or omission,” commented a consulted lawyer.
The investigations division has significant responsibility for these crimes. It is part of the entire state repression structure, which includes the police, the prosecution, and the judges—all politically subordinate to Ortega. The party’s long arm also extends into neighborhoods, where informants report to the police. Simultaneously, paramilitaries were co-perpetrators of the 2018 massacre, clearly expressing their support for the ruling party.
Amidst totalitarianism, massive exile, denationalization, and confiscation have become additional modalities of repression over time. Political surveillance has also taken on a preventive action, relentlessly harassing and pursuing those labeled as a “threat.” Some have been purged from state institutions.
Although Serrano and his team have operated in the shadows, their work is evident in the case of political prisoners. During the first three months of his tenure as Deputy Director of the Police—between late 2022 and February 2023—political prisoners in Nicaragua reached 245. This number decreased to 37 after the unexpected exile of 222, but the count has been slowly increasing.
An August 2024 report by the Mechanism for the Recognition of Political Prisoners in Nicaragua indicates there are 151 prisoners. The Deputy Director’s mission has been political and directly in line with the presidential couple’s orders.
On January 2, 2024, Serrano, dressed in civilian clothes, joined the doctor who examined Matagalpa Bishop Rolando Álvarez at La Modelo prison. At that time, the cleric was the most prestigious figure Ortega kept behind bars for over 500 days amid irregularities. On January 14 of the same year, the Catholic leader and 18 other religious figures were banished to Rome.
Serrano’s increasing and unusual prominence since his appointment is notable. To date, he has participated in at least 21 political, police, military, and diplomatic activities, according to a monitoring of official media conducted by DIVERGENTES.
The Zhukov-Russia-Dictatorship connection
So far, there have been three trips to Moscow. On these trips, Serrano joined Laureano Ortega Murillo, the state representative for relations with Russia, China, and Iran, who is considered by many critics as the dynasty’s successor. This team includes Nicaragua’s ambassador to Russia, Alba Azucena Torres, Serrano, and the then Deputy Head of the DID, Colonel Álvaro Peña. Peña was recently promoted by Murillo, according to Confidencial, following the fall of the long-time head of that department, General Rigoberto Balladares Sandoval.
On December 14, 2023, they held an important meeting with the then Secretary of Security of the Russian Federation, Nikolai Platonovich Patrushev, considered an ideologist in the Kremlin. According to a press release from the Nicaraguan Telecommunications and Postal Institute, the participants discussed the need for a “strategic alliance” between Russia and Nicaragua, which has been strengthened since 2007.
What exactly were they referring to? How can one interpret their call for greater coordination of actions internationally, given the “aggressive Western policy, increasingly active in using fascism”?
According to Douglas Farah, an American security consultant and president of IBI Consultants, Serrano is highly trusted by Ortega for “receiving, transmitting, and mediating messages and policies,” referring to his visits to Russia.
Farah has studied in-depth the relations between Nicaragua and the Russian Federation, as well as the Kremlin’s interests in Latin America. He believes that the connections with Nicaraguan political leaders must be intimate, considering that both regimes are at war with the opposition, require large repression apparatuses, and share strategic lessons and movements to achieve their goals.
Russia established a Russian Training Center (CCR) in Managua with the supposed goal of training Central American police to combat drug trafficking; however, there have always been questions about whether it serves other purposes.
The United States sanctioned the entity in May 2024, arguing that “the CCR has been operating in Managua since October 2017. It has trained members of the PNN (Police) for years as part of a collaboration agreement between the Nicaraguan and Russian governments. The training center has guided the brutal repressive tactics of the Nicaraguan regime.”
Farah has also denounced this repressive support, as well as communication links: The Glonass project is one such link, and the Russians have a satellite station called “La Gaviota” in the Nicaraguan capital. They have also strengthened agreements to combat “threats to international information security,” based on defending “sovereignty,” a concept manipulated by Ortega to justify oppression.
“The regime (in Nicaragua) seeks with Russia an international shield and an unconditional ally supporting repression and the totalitarian government. Russia protects Ortega in the UN and multilateral forums and provides highly sophisticated intelligence and surveillance equipment to keep him in power. Russia knows everything about those coming from Nicaragua (to visit them); they know exactly who General Zhukov Serrano is, and they treat him as a very trusted friend,” Farah said.