Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega has explicitly ruled out allowing elections in which the opposition could defeat his regime, declaring that the government will erect a legal “wall” against its political rivals.

Ortega said his government would work with Parliament and the institutions responsible for legislation to block what he called “coup plotters” and “sellouts,” insisting that opposition groups would not succeed regardless of how much support they received from the United States.

The statement amounts to a public admission that Nicaragua’s elections will not offer citizens a genuine opportunity to replace the ruling regime.