LatinNews Daily - 10 February 2026

*Nicaragua’s authoritarian government led by co-Presidents Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has authorised two new mining concessions to Chinese firm XinXin Linze Minería Group S.A for a total of 39,946 hectares (ha). According to the official gazette, which published the details of the concessions, one lot is for 6,036.06 ha and is in Jinotega department and the North Atlantic autonomous region (Raan), while the other, for 33,910 ha, is in Bluefields, the capital of the South Atlantic autonomous region (Raas). Exiled independent media La Prensa reports that with these two concessions, the Chinese firm has a total of 12 lots, spanning 195,001 ha. As with previous mining concessions, the latest announcements have drawn concern from environmentalist group Fundación del Río which has long complained that the concessions are illegal and damaging to the environment.