Rafael Solís Cerda (born July 25, 1953 in Managua)[1] is a Nicaraguan attorney, politician and former Justice of the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) of Nicaragua. He served on the Supreme Court for 19 years before resigning in January 2019. Before joining the Supreme Court, Solís had served in the Nicaraguan legislature and as a military leader.
Solís was a Justice on the Supreme Court of Justice (CSJ) of Nicaragua for 19 years.[4] He served as Vice-President of the Court[5] and as a member of both its Constitutional Appeal and Criminal Appeal chambers.[3] He was a key figure in the 2009 CSJ decision to remove presidential term limits, effectively allowing Ortega to continue to run for re-election, a decision Solis later said he regretted.[4]
Solis resigned the Court on January 8, 2019, issuing a public letter in protest of what he described as "a state of terror" imposed by Ortega since protests broke out in the country in April 2018,[6] with hundreds of deaths ensuing.[4] Solis disputed Ortega's claim that violence in the country resulted from a foreign-backed attempted coup, and predicted that unless pro-Ortega paramilitary groups were disarmed, opposition groups would arm as well, eventually leading to civil war,[6] particularly as the country's economic situation deteriorated.[4]
References
^Affairs, United States Department of State Bureau of Public (1988). Nicaraguan Biographies: A Resource Book. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Public Affairs. p. 31. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2020.